Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1-1-2015
Keywords
Adolescent, Adult, Body Height, Body Mass Index, Body Weight, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Obesity, Obesity, Morbid, Overweight, Reproducibility of Results, Self Report, Students, United States, Universities, Young Adult
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study examined associations between college students' self-report and measured height and weight.
METHODS: Participants (N = 1,686) were 77% white, 62% female, aged 18-24 years (mean ± SD, 19.1 ± 1.1 years), and enrolled at 8 US universities. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated for self-report (via online survey); trained researchers measured height and weight and categorized them as normal (18.5 to < 25), overweight (25 to < 30), obese (30 to < 35), and morbidly obese (≥ 35).
RESULTS: Concordance of self-report vs objectively measured BMI groups using chi-square revealed that 93% were accurate, 4% were underestimated, and 2.7% were overestimated. Pearson correlations and adjusted linear regression revealed significant associations between self-report and measured BMI (r = .97; P < .001) and BMI adjusted for age, gender, and race/ethnicity (R² = .94). Concordance was also high between BMI categories (kappa = 0.77; P < .001).
CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Findings provide support for the utility of self-report height and weight for survey research in college students.
Publication Title
Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Volume
47
Issue
1
First Page
94
Last Page
98
PMCID
PMC4274244
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.jneb.2014.08.012
Recommended Citation
Quick, Virginia; Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; Shoff, Suzanne; White, Adrienne A.; Lohse, Barbara; Horacek, Tanya; Kattelmann, Kendra; Phillips, Beatrice; Hoerr, Sharon L; and Greene, Geoffrey, "Concordance of Self-report and Measured Height and Weight of College Students" (2015). Health and Nutritional Sciences Faculty Publications. 207.
https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/hns_pubs/207
Comments
This is the NIH authors peer-reviewed manuscript. The version of record was published in (2015) Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 47(1):94-98 DOI:10.1016/j.jneb.2014.08.012.