Warschburger and Kröller BMC Public Health 2012, 12:295 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/12/295 that we used self-report data for weight status. This de- cision was supported by our assumption that maternal perception of the child’s weight status is more relevant to their perception of weight-related health risks than his or her objective weight. Still, our study is the first to focus on the maternal per- ception of the need for overweight prevention. Our results underscore the relevance of parental risk perception to the construction of intentions to employ preventive strategies. Conclusions This study suggests that most parents believe there is no need for preventive action regarding their child’s weight until the child is overweight or even obese. The early identification of overweight in children and its related physical health risks are factors that can increase paren- tal motivation for preventive actions. In summary, these findings underscore the relevance of parental awareness about overweight. Preventive efforts should take this into account and should develop methods to raise parental risk awareness as a first step towards decreasing chil- dren’s health risks from overweight and obesity. First results show that parents prefer a clear statement about their child’s weight status [30], but especially for younger children only few parents being told by their doctor that their child is overweight [31,32]. Additionally, getting feedback about the child’s weight status by pediatricians or other health care professionals or recalling a doctor’s concern and advice will increase their awareness on overweight associated health risks [33-35] and also their willingness to change family habits [36,37]. Therefore further research is necessary how to support pediatri- cians in screening at risk children and in counseling their parents (summarizing [38]). Otherwise it seems un- likely that their will implement any relevant intervention targeting overweight. Endnotes aThis is the German acronym for the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Germany. Competing interests Both authors declare that they have no competing interests. Acknowledgements This research was supported by grant BMBF 01EL0408 awarded to Petra Warschburger. Special thanks go to Dipl.-Psych. Dörte Jahnke for her work in realization of this study. Received: 20 July 2011 Accepted: 13 April 2012 Published: 20 April 2012 References 1. Kurth B-M, Schaffrath Rosario A: Die Verbreitung von Übergewicht und Adipositas bei Kindern und Jugendlichen in Deutschland. Bundesgesundheitsbl-Gesundheitsforsch-Gesundheitsschutz 2007, 5:736–743. Page 7 of 8 2. Reilly JJ, Methven E, McDowell ZC, Hacking B, Alexander D, Stewart L, Kelnar CJH: Health consequences of obesity. Arch Dis Child 2003, 88:748–752. 3. 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