Perception of Weight Status in Relationship to Self-Reported BMI

Nova Southeastern University, Davie, Florida, USA

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess perceptions of weight status in relation to self-reported height and weight (BMI) among individuals ages 16 years and older. Methods: A face-to-face, validated survey was conducted on 5964 participants. Interviewers conducted the Sample Person Questionnaire using the Computer-Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) system to gather data on topics related to body weight. Analysis was completed using Descriptive and Chi-Square tests, level of significance was 0.05. Results: Males who self-reported normal BMI, 18% considered themselves underweight and 77.6% the right weight. Males who self-reported overweight BMI, 58.3% considered themselves right weight and 2.2% underweight (χ2=1276.285, p=0.000). Females that self-reported normal weight, 7.8% considered themselves underweight and 76.2% right weight. Females who self-reported overweight, 31.5% considered the right weight and 1.8% underweight (χ2=1612.828, p=0.000). Out of the total males who self-reported overweight, 39.1% want to remain the same weight and 7.8% want to gain weight (χ2=1169.259, p=0.000). On the other hand, females who self-reported overweight, 19.9% want to remain the same weight and 8.4% want to gain weight (χ2=1162.907, p=0.000). Conclusion: When self-reported BMI is normal, males and females share similar perceptions on considering themselves the right weight, although more males consider themselves underweight. When self-reported BMI was higher perceptions varied between males and females. Significantly more males considered themselves to be the right weight compared to females in the overweight category. Furthermore, in the overweight range, males report wanting to remain the same weight significantly more than females in the same BMI range.