Weight Status Underestimation among Canadian Adolescents: An Important and Frequently Overlooked Aspect of the Childhood Obesity Epidemic
Abstract
Objectives: Overweight adolescents frequently fail to recognize that they are overweight. This project examines the magnitude of weight status underestimation among overweight adolescents and identifies predictors of this underestimation.
Methods: Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2001-2010) were used. Overweight adolescents (N=11,452) reporting they were underweight or about right were classified as underestimating their weight. The time trend in underestimation and effects of individual-level characteristics on underestimation were examined using logistic regression. Multilevel analysis examined the effect of weight status of community-based reference groups.
Results: For every 5 overweight male adolescents, 3 underestimated their weight; 2 of 5 overweight females underestimated. Exposure to overweight explained some of the variation in underestimation across communities among females.
Conclusions: Weight status underestimation is a significant problem among overweight adolescents. Understanding how adolescents perceive their weight is an important and novel concept in maximizing the effectiveness of current approaches to adolescent obesity.