The Accuracy of Self-Reported Body Weight Is High but Dependent on Recent Weight Change and Negative Affect in Teenage Girls

Corinna Koebnick, Brit Saksvig, Xia Li, Margo Sidell, Tong Tong Wu and Deborah R. Young
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Corinna Koebnick: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
Brit Saksvig: University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD 20742, USA
Xia Li: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
Margo Sidell: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA
Tong Tong Wu: Department of Biostatistics and Computational Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA
Deborah R. Young: Department of Research & Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA 91101, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Research studies often rely on self-reported weight to calculate body mass index. The present study investigated how the accuracy of self-reported body weight in adolescent girls is affected by overweight/obesity, race/ethnicity, and mental health factors. Methods: In a cohort of girls who participated in the Trial of Activity for Adolescent Girls at ages 11 and 17 ( n = 588), self-reported and measured weight were compared, and linear regression models were fitted to model the over- or underreporting. The Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to calculate depressive symptom subscales for negative affect, anhedonia and somatic symptoms. Results: Allowing 3% difference between self-reported and measured weight for the correct reporting of body weight, 59.2% of girls reported their weight correctly, 30.3% underreported (−5.8 ± 4.8 kg), and 10.5% overreported (4.3 ± 3.5 kg). The average difference between self-reported and measured body weight was −1.5 ± 4.3 kg ( p < 0.001). Factors for misreporting body weight were overweight (β ± SE − 2.60 ± 0.66%), obesity (β ± SE − 2.41 ± 0.71%), weight change between ages 11 and 17 (β ± SE − 0.35 ± 0.04% for each kg), height change between ages 11 and 17 (β ± SE 0.29 ± 0.10% for each cm), and negative affect (β ± SE − 0.18 ± 0.08% for each score unit). Conclusions: The difference between self-reported and measured body weight in adolescent girls is relatively small. However, the accuracy of self-reported body weight may be lower in girls with overweight or obesity, recent weight and height change, and higher negative affect.

Keywords: body mass index; obesity; validation; self-report; adolescence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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