Self-Reported and Measured BMI in Ireland: Should We Adjust the Obesity Thresholds?

David Madden ()

Health, Econometrics and Data Group (HEDG) Working Papers from HEDG, c/o Department of Economics, University of York

Abstract: Using the nationally representative Slan dataset of 2007 we analyse the relationship between self-reported and measured BMI. We find that selfreported BMI significantly underestimates obesity rates and suggest that the traditional threshold of 30 should be adjusted downwards. We outline a number of approaches to choose the optimal threshold and results suggest that the new obesity threshold for self-reported BMI could be as low as 26.

Keywords: body mass index; receiver operating characteristic; sensitivity; specificity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013-02
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Working Paper: Self-reported and measured BMI in Ireland: should we adjust the obesity thresholds? (2013)
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