44 | DECEMBER 26 • 2019 

Health
Weight 
Misperceptions

Teens often misjudge their weight and 
are at risk for developing obesity later in life.
N

early a fourth of 
American teenagers 
misjudge their weight 
and often avoid a healthy diet 
and physical activity because of 
it, says a new study from Ball 
State University.
“
Adolescent Body Weight 
Perception: Association with 
Diet and Physical Activity 
Behaviors” is an analysis of 
about 12,000 teens (ages 15-17) 
who participated in the Youth 
Risk Behavior Survey. The 
study, posted by the Journal 
of School Nursing, found that 
nearly a fourth (22.9 percent) 
misperceived their weight; 
11.6 percent believe they are 
overweight but aren’
t, and 11.3 
percent weigh more than they 
should but think it’
s healthy and 
underestimate their weight.
“Teens who misperceive their 
weight are significantly more 
likely to engage in unhealthy 
food habits and are more likely 
to have sedentary lifestyles,
” 
said Jagdish Khubchandani, 
author and a health science pro-
fessor at Ball State. “Teenagers 
who have accurate perceptions 
of their weight practice health-
ier behaviors or avoid risky 
weight loss methods.
”
The U.S. is witnessing high 
rates of obesity across all ages, 
Khubchandani said.
“Recent evidence also sug-
gests that adolescent weight 
misperception is associated 
with obesity in adulthood,
” he 
said. “Early childhood interven-
tions to promote appropriate 
weight-related perception and 
weight management could have 
a lasting impact.
”
The study also found:
• A third of adolescents were 

overweight and obese.
• Boys and girls who believed 
they were overweight but were 
not really were less likely to 
drink fruit juice or milk, eat 
fruits or eat breakfast regularly.
• Boys and girls who were 
truly overweight or only 
believed they were, had the low-
est odds of engaging in physical 
activity for at least 60 minutes a 
day five days a week.
• Females were more likely to 
have misperceptions about their 
weight than males.
“Interestingly, weight 
misperception has also been 
linked with eating disorders 
that are a major cause of mor-
bidity in young Americans,
” 
Khubchandani said. “School 
nurses and health teachers are 
uniquely poised to educate 
students and prevent weight 
misperception engage students 
in healthy behaviors.
“Regular exercise routines in 
youth also shape future physical 
activity behaviors. A variety of 
school-based and cost-effective 
interventions to enhance youth 
physical activity have been doc-
umented in the literature that 
can be implemented with youth 
in school setting,
” he added. 

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