Parents whose children are obese tend to overestimate the health of their kids, a new study suggests.

The study, published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, interviewed 200 families participating in a obesity clinic at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Rhode Island in 2008 and 2009. 94 percent of the children participating were obese while the remaining six percent were classified as overweight.

28 percent of the parents surveyed did not view their children’s weight as concerning. 31 percent reported that their children were in very good or excellent health.

The study also found that parents were much more likely to encourage their children to eat better than they were to encourage increased daily exercise. When asked, 41 percent of parents answered that they were trying to improve exercise habits while 61 percent stated they were working to encourage healthier diets.

Parents with obesity were found to be less likely to encourage changes in their children’s lifestyles. This was also true of parents who viewed their weight as a threat to their own health. Participants were not asked to provide reasons for this reluctance, but researchers think it could be tied to potential failed attempts at change in the parent’s history.

A lot of research suggests that obesity is linked to many illnesses, including cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease and more. Many experts point out that these health risks also occur in children who are obese, and the risks often carry into adulthood.

A small, but growing, body of research indicates that obesity may be the symptom of these and other risk factors and not necessarily the cause.

There is also research that suggests that the shaming nature of stigmas surrounding weight and health issues tends to have a destructive force on the development of healthier lifestyles. The stress of coping with the emotional distress created by stigma related discrimination causes many to fall back on familiar, though less healthy, habits as a means of coping.