Parents' perception of health-related quality of life in children and adolescents with excess weight

Objective: To evaluate the perception of parents or caregivers on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of children/adolescents with overweight/obesity and possible factors associated with this perception. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study involving 297 caregivers of children and adolescents with normal weight (n = 170) and with overweight/obesity (n = 127), from public and private schools in the study municipality. HRQOL scores obtained through the Child Health Questionnaire - Parent Form 50 (CHQ-PF50) were compared according to the nutritional status and gender of the children/adolescents. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the predictive value of studied variables for the variation in HRQOL scores. Results: Parents of children/adolescents with overweight/obesity attributed lower HRQOL scores to their children in the following domains: physical functioning (p < 0.01; d = 0.49), self-esteem (p < 0.01; d = 0.38), parental impact-emotional (p < 0.05; d = 0.29), family cohesion (p < 0.05; d = 0.26), physical summary score (p < 0.05; d = 0.29), and psychosocial sum-mary score