Accessibility for parents of weight management information on the Internet

Nutrition Research Newsletter, Dec, 2006

Childhood and adolescent obesity increase the risk of becoming an obese adult. There are significant health risks associated with childhood and adolescent obesity, including an increase in future morbidity and mortality, greater cardiovascular risk factors, type 2 diabetes, hepatic steatosis, and obstructive sleep apnea. In addition, obesity affects the psychosocial wellbeing of a child. Conventional management strategies for childhood obesity include dietary modification to decrease energy intake; increased energy expenditure through increased physical activity; and a decrease in sedentary activity, parental, and family participation; and behavior modification. The evidence for efficacy of such treatments is limited. The resources to manage established obesity in children and adolescents are also few in Australia and are often located in tertiary care facilities.

The Internet provides access to a vast body of information and overcomes geographical isolation. It is known that more than one quarter of Americans search for health-related information on the Internet each year, and more than 70% report that decisions about therapeutic interventions were influenced by health information that they located on the Internet. A consumer's ability to assess the quality of health information on the Internet is likely to vary. Ethical issues arising with Internet use have also emerged, with guidelines being developed.

It was hypothesized that parents may seek Internet information or advice on managing obesity in their children, before seeking professional assistance or because of a lack of accessible services. The aims of the present study were: (i) to determine what childhood obesity management Websites appear under the specified search conditions of the project; (ii) to review the information on the identified Websites for health content, accuracy, relevance, and usefulness; and (iii) to describe the content of the identified Websites for parental readability and access.

Links to Websites were generated using three search engines and three phrases. The first ten Website links were selected from each of nine searches. Ten aspects of obesity management were identified for the analysis of childhood obesity and related Websites. The Fry readability graph was used to assess content readability.

A total of 90 links were generated with 60 relevant for analysis. In total, 30 were specific to childhood obesity and 47 Websites were either obesity-specific or weight-related. Childhood obesity Websites were community-based or commercial. Most Websites relevant to childhood obesity management came at no cost, in comparison with general weight-related sites. Childhood obesity Websites scored generally high on accuracy of content. Overall, Website readability was at an undergraduate level.

The present study investigated the accessibility, information quality, and readability of Web-based information for the management of overweight in children, in order to get some idea of how useful such sites might be to the interested parent. The search was made as if the parent of the obese child was performing the task (accessibility and readability), and the quality of the information was assessed from the health professional's viewpoint. The main findings of the present study are that little child-specific information is easily available, that this information when available was generally accurate and that a fairly sophisticated reading ability level was required to understand the information provided.

The Internet has the power to inform, and can be a valuable source of information. The management of childhood obesity is a health priority. Institutions and/or groups who are perceived by the lay public as being authoritative on the management of childhood obesity might consider their role as producers of quality Internet information. Such Websites need to be easy-to-read and to provide practical help or direction for parents, on where to go, what to do, and when to obtain professional assistance. At present there is a lack of quality, accessible information on the Internet for parents about childhood obesity and its management. Although the optimal management for childhood obesity should involve health professional input, there are limited resources for childhood obesity management in the health sector. In addition, not all families choose to seek professional help, and access to good quality information on the Internet is highly desirable.

A. Owaimrin, K. Steinbeck. Accessibility for Parents of Weight Management Information on the Internet. JADA; Australia. (June 2006). [Correspondence: K. Steinbeck, Metabolism and Obesity Services, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Missenden Road, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia. E-mail: kss@email.cs.nsw.gov.au.]