Self-Reported vs. Measured Height, Weight, and BMI in Young Adults

Authors

Melissa D. Olfert, West Virginia UniversityFollow
Makenzie L. Barr, West Virginia University
Camille M. Charlier, West Virginia University
Oluremi A. Famodu, West Virginia University
Wenjun Zhou, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Anne E. Mathews, University of Florida
Carol Byrd-Bredbenner, Rutgers University - New Brunswick/Piscataway
Sarah E. Colby, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Author ORCID Identifier

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6686-3891

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6332-215X

N/A

N/A

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2346-8151

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3504-5826

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8010-3987

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8298-3690

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2018

College/Unit

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department/Program/Center

Animal and Nutritional Sciences

Abstract

Self-reported height and weight, if accurate, provide a simple and economical method to track changes in body weight over time. Literature suggests adults tend to under-report their own weight and that the gap between self-reported weight and actual weight increases with obesity. This study investigates the extent of discrepancy in self-reported height, weight, and subsequent Body Mass Index (BMI) versus actual measurements in young adults. Physically measured and self-reported height and weight were taken from 1562 students. Male students marginally overestimated height, while females were closer to target. Males, on average, closely self-reported weight. Self-reported anthropometrics remained statistically correlated to actual measures in both sexes. Categorical variables of calculated BMI from both self-reported and actual height and weight resulted in significant agreement for both sexes. Researcher measured BMI (via anthropometric height and weight) and sex were both found to have association with self-reported weight while only sex was related to height difference. Regression examining weight difference and BMI was significant, specifically with a negative slope indicating increased BMI led to increased underestimation of weight in both sexes. This study suggests self-reported anthropometric measurements in young adults can be used to calculate BMI for weight classification purposes. Further investigation is needed to better assess self-reported vs measured height and weight discrepancies across populations.

Digital Commons Citation

Olfert, Melissa D.; Barr, Makenzie L.; Charlier, Camille M.; Famodu, Oluremi A.; Zhou, Wenjun; Mathews, Anne E.; Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; and Colby, Sarah E., "Self-Reported vs. Measured Height, Weight, and BMI in Young Adults" (2018). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 1366.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/1366

Source Citation

Olfert, M., Barr, M., Charlier, C., Famodu, O., Zhou, W., Mathews, A., Byrd-Bredbenner, C., & Colby, S. (2018). Self-Reported vs. Measured Height, Weight, and BMI in Young Adults. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(10), 2216. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15102216

Comments

1. © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).