Evaluation of parental awareness of children’s obesity-related health risk in Poland: survey study

Introduction
Childhood obesity is a complex problem that requires a multidimensional approach. The constantly increasing prevalence of childhood obesity should be of interest not only to pediatricians but also government bodies. Parental awareness of how excess body weight influences a child’s health is one of the aspects that should be considered.

Aim
Our main goal was to assess the awareness and opinions on possible adverse effects of excess body weight of parents of children attending several primary schools in the Pomeranian, Lubelskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodships in Poland.

Material and methods
The questionnaire-based survey was conducted in 2019 during parent-teacher meetings in public schools in the Pomeranian, Lubelskie and Świętokrzyskie Voivodeships Statistical analysis was then performed on the 277 received questionnaires using Statistica 13.3 software package and spreadsheet editor Microsoft Excel 2018.

Results
Inhabitants of urban areas perceived a stronger link between obesity and its influence on health. Similar results were observed in the group consisting of parents with higher education. Gender had no significant effect on the opinion concerning complications of obesity.

Conclusions
Overall, most of the parents recognized the influence of obesity on health. The degree of awareness among respondents was the weakest in relation to the influence of obesity and diet on carcinogenesis.