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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