Childhood Obesity, Parents' Knowledge and Report Cards
Heather Royer*, Silvia Prina
Last modified: 2012-05-11
Abstract
Using a randomized field experiment, we study the impact of body mass index report cards on parental attitudes and behaviors in Mexico, a country with one of the highest obesity rates. Parents in all treatment groups received information about the height and weight of their children and their child's weight status (i.e., underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or obese) and the type of information varied across treatment groups. The intervention increased parental awareness of their child's weight and feelings about their child weight but there were few meaningful changes in parental behavior or children's body mass index.