Pediatricians' communication with parents critical to overcoming obesity in Latino children

Physician-researchers found that 1-in-5 parents of overweight Latino children is not directly told that the child is overweight. "Special attention should be paid to directly telling Latino families that the child is overweight using family-preferred terms," said researchers. "For example, pediatricians should use phrases such as 'too much weight for his/her health' or 'demasiado peso para su salud,' and avoid terms such as 'fat,' 'heavy,' or 'obese.' "