Study: Parents not seeing their children's obesity

Childhood obesity. Would you recognize it if it were right in front of you?

One in five American children are obese today, according to the

CDC. But parents might not know childhood obesity when they see it.

According to research released Monday, fewer parents recognize their own children as fat.

Using survey data, researchers at Georgia Southern University found that

parents are 24 percent less likely to recognize overweight or obesity in their kids compared to parents in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Why is this happening? One reason may be that parents are comparing their children's weight to peers or friends rather than relying on growth charts

or what their pediatricians tell them.

Childhood obesity has nearly tripled in the last few decades, and the study suggests more parents need a reality check.