%0 Journal Article
%T Validity of Self-Reported Weight and Height of Adolescents, Its Impact on Classification into BMI-Categories and the Association with Weighing Behaviour
%A Tineke De Vriendt
%A Inge Huybrechts
%A Charlene Ottevaere
%A Inge Van Trimpont
%A Stefaan De Henauw
%J International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
%D 2009
%I MDPI AG
%R 10.3390/ijerph6102696
%X 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.
%K height
%K weight
%K body mass index
%K validity
%K adolescents
%K weighing behaviour
%U http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/6/10/2696