ACCURACY OF WEIGHT PERCEPTION AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

Abstract

PURPOSE To examine the relationship between weight perception and calculated body mass index(BMI). METHODS Subjects included 703 young adults (mean age 24.4 yrs). The sample consisted of 354 males and 349 females (74.9% white, 25.1% black). Current height and weight data were obtained via telephone interview and used to calculate BMI. Subjects were categorized using standard classifications: underweight <18.5, normal 18.5–24.9, overweight 25–29.9, and obese >30. Subjects responded to a question. “How do you think of yourself? very underweight, slightly underweight, about the right the weight, slightly overweight, or very overweight”. The two underweight categories were combined to form 4 categories that corresponded to the BMI classifications. Kappa was used to test for agreeability between perception of weight and actual BMI category. RESULTS Overall, 3.1% of the sample was underweight, 52.2% were normal weight, 30.6% were overweight, and 14.1% were obese. While higher overall agreement between perception and actual weight category was low (Kappa statistic=.307), higher levels of agreement were found for females (Kappa=.433) compared to males (Kappa=.209). In addition, there was a difference in the direction of the perception error. Females were more likely to overestimate their actual weight category. Specifically, normal weight females were more likely to perceive their weight as normal (60%) or overweight (33%). In contrast, males were more likely to underestimate actual weight categories. Specifically, normal weight males were more likely to perceive themselves as underweight (31%) or normal weight (66%). CONCLUSION These results indicate there are differences between young adults' perception of weight and their actual weight categories and suggest that weight perception among females is more accurate than among males. These differences should be considered by health professionals when providing weight management recommendations. Supported by NIAMS (AR39541) and NICHD (HD35607)