Weight status and perceived body size in children

• DOI: 10.1136/adc.2009.162578
• Publication Date: 2009-09-01T00:25:16Z
• Authors: J Saxton; C Hill; P Chadwick; J Wardle
• Keywords: Male; 2. Zero hunger; Sex Characteristics; Anthropometry; Psychometrics; Body Weight; Body Mass Index; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Cross-Sectional Studies; 0302 clinical medicine; Thinness; Body Image; Body Size; Humans; Female; Obesity; Child

<h3>Objective:</h3> To investigate associations between weight status and body size perception in children the UK. <h3>Design:</h3> Cross-sectional survey. <h3>Setting:</h3> School-based sample <h3>Participants:</h3> 399 (205 boys, 194 girls) aged 7–9 years. <h3>Main outcome measures:</h3> Perceived was assessed using a visual method (Children9s Body Image Scale, matching to images representing mass indexes (BMI) from 3rd 97th percentiles) verbal descriptors "too thin" fat". BMI (converted SD scores UK data) demographic information recorded. <h3>Results:</h3> Modest actual perceived were found with (r = 0.43, p&lt;0.001) 0.41, methods, but there consistent response bias towards underestimation. Using matching, most (45%) underestimated their size, significantly greater underestimation (p&lt;0.001) at higher BMI. A gender-by-weight group interaction (p 0.001) showed that lower weights girls more accurate than less accurate. scale, majority of reported as "just right" all groups (52–73%), no sex differences. <h3>Conclusions:</h3> Children can estimate or methods some accuracy, show weights, especially girls. These findings suggest is widespread has been assumed, which implications for health education among school-aged children.