Measuring the accuracy of self-reported height and weight in a community-based sample of young people

Table 3 Proportion of participants who accurately, under- and over-reported their height and weight stratified by sex, age group, and obesity classification

			Accurate¹		Under-report²		Over-report³		p-value⁴
			n	%	n	%	n	%
Height		Overall	35	52	20	30	12	18
	Sex	Males	17	50	8	24	9	26	0.16
	Sex	Females	18	55	12	36	3	9	0.16
	Age group (years)	16-19	16	48	10	30	7	21	0.72
	Age group (years)	20-29	19	56	10	29	5	15	0.72
	Obesity classification	Non-overweight⁵	22	54	11	27	8	20	0.79
	Obesity classification	Overweight/obese⁶	13	50	9	35	4	15	0.79
Weight		Overall	23	34	35	52	9	13
	Sex	Males	15	44	12	35	7	21	0.01
	Sex	Females	8	24	23	70	2	6	0.01
	Age group (years)	16-19	13	39	16	48	4	12	0.74
	Age group (years)	20-29	10	29	19	56	5	15	0.74
	Obesity classification	Non-overweight⁵	17	41	18	44	6	15	0.24
	Obesity classification	Overweight/obese⁶	6	23	17	65	3	12	0.24

¹ Accurate defined as self-report less than two units (kg or cm) different from measured value.
² Under-report defined as self-reported height or weight two or more units (kg or cm) less than measured value.
³ Over-report defined as self-reported height or weight two or more units (kg or cm) more than measured value.
⁴ Fisher’s exact test. Significant p-values shown in bold.
⁵ BMI<25 kg/m² or less than age-specific cut-offs if under 18 years.
⁶ BMI ≥25 kg/m² or more than age-specific cut-offs if under 18 years.
Significant p-values (p<0.05) shown in boldface.

ISSN: 1471-2288