Validity of self-reported weight and height of adolescents, its impact on classification into BMI-categories and the association with weighing behaviour

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2009 Oct;6(10):2696-711. doi: 10.3390/ijerph6102696. Epub 2009 Oct 20.

Abstract

This paper investigated the validity of self-reported height and weight of adolescents for the diagnosis of underweight, overweight and obesity and the influence of weighing behaviour on the accuracy. A total of 982 adolescents reported their height, weight, weighing behaviour and eating patterns in a questionnaire. Afterwards, their height and weight were measured and their Body Mass Index (BMI)-categories were determined using age- and gender-specific BMI cut-off points. Both girls and boys underreported their weight, whilst height was overestimated by girls and underestimated by boys. Cohen's d indicated that these misreportings were in fact trivial. The prevalence of underweight was overestimated when using the self-reported BMI for classification, whilst the prevalence of overweight and obesity was underestimated. Gender and educational level influenced the accuracy of the adolescents' self-reported BMI. Weighing behaviour only positively influenced the accuracy of the self-reported weight and not height or BMI. In summary, adolescents' self-reported weight and height cannot replace measured values to determine their BMI-category, and thus the latter are highly recommended when investigating underweight, overweight and obesity in adolescents.

Keywords: adolescents; body mass index; height; validity; weighing behaviour; weight.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Body Height*
  • Body Mass Index*
  • Body Weight*
  • Child
  • Confidence Intervals
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Obesity
  • Overweight
  • Prevalence
  • Regression Analysis
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Statistics as Topic
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Thinness