Parents’ level of health literacy determines the weight-control strategies they would choose for their children, according to a new study led by Janet Liechty, a of social work and of medicine. Salma M. A. Musaad, a visiting research biostatistician in human and community development, and social work doctoral student Jaclyn A. Saltzman were co-authors.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Parents who have low health literacy are less likely to choose government-recommended weight-loss strategies, such as increasing physical activity or serving more fruits and vegetables, to help their children control their weight than parents who are better able to understand basic health-related information, a new study suggests. About one in six - or 16 percent - of the nearly 500 parents in the study had low health literacy, which the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services defines as a limited ability to understand, communicate and apply basic health information in improving one's health. Parents' level of health literacy was determined by their ability to correctly interpret the nutrition information on an ice cream container label. They also were asked about their preferred sources of weight-control information and the methods they would consider using to help an overweight child lose weight. A paper on the study was published in the August issue of the journal Appetite.
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