Validity of Self-Reported Weight and Height of Adolescents, Its Impact on Classification into BMI-Categories and the Association with Weighing Behaviour

Tineke De Vriendt, Inge Huybrechts, Charlene Ottevaere, Inge Van Trimpont and Stefaan De Henauw
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Tineke De Vriendt: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 2 blok A, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Inge Huybrechts: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 2 blok A, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Charlene Ottevaere: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 2 blok A, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Inge Van Trimpont: Centre for Pupils Counselling (CLB), Flemish Community Education, Jan Verspeyenstraat 3, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Stefaan De Henauw: Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, De Pintelaan 185, 2 blok A, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium

IJERPH, 2009, vol. 6, issue 10, 1-16

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: height; weight; body mass index; validity; adolescents; weighing behaviour (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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