Desire for the body normal: body image and discrepancies between self reported and measured height and weight in a British population.

Ziébland, Sue; Thorogood, Margaret; Fuller, Alice; Muir, John

doi:10.1136/jech.50.1.105

Cited by 85 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…A recent British study found that 27% of men and 10% of women who were overweight described their weight as about right, and 12% of men and 37% of women whose weight was normal' considered themselves to be too heavy. 9 Similar ®ndings have also been reported in an Australian study. Paxton and colleagues 10 found that 17% of men and 6% of women in the overweight or obese range (BMI b 25) classi®ed themselves as a good weight, and 24% of men and 47% of women in the acceptable weight range considered themselves to be at least slightly overweight.…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Lay definitions of ideal weight and overweight

1999

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OBJECTIVE: To describe lay de®nitions of ideal weight and overweight, to determine whether they correspond with current health de®nitions, and to examine the relationship between lay de®nitions and weight-control behaviour. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of adults from Victoria, Australia. SUBJECTS: 1342 men and women, aged 18 y and older from across the weight spectrum. MEASURES: Questionnaire-based measures of current height and weight to determine body mass index (BMI); weight that is considered to be ideal; weight that is considered to be overweight; current weight-control behaviour. RESULTS: The BMI at which women considered themselves to be at their ideal weight was signi®cantly lower than that for men. For both men and women, the BMI de®ned as ideal increased with age and with current weight. The average BMI at which women considered themselves to be overweight was signi®cantly lower than that for men, and was well within the acceptable BMI range. Just over two-thirds of men, de®ned overweight at a level higher than the current cutoff of 25 kgam 2 . For both men and women, the BMI de®ned as overweight increased with age and with current weight. CONCLUSION: Lay de®nitions of ideal weight and overweight deviate substantially from health de®nitions. Public health initiatives should stress that many women are already a healthy weight, and encourage these women to focus their efforts on weight maintenance rather than weight loss. Since so few men have weight goals that are consistent with current health recommendations, it will be important to raise their awareness of what constitutes a healthy weight.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Lay definitions of ideal weight and overweight

1999

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“…10 Although there is a tendency to overestimate height and underestimate weight in surveys where these are self-reported, 11 resulting in an underestimate of BMI, this is unlikely to account for the large differences noted. We suggest that the relatively low mean BMI is largely attributable to the skewed social class distribution of the cohort and the generally health conscious nature of the subjects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low body mass index in non-meat eaters: the possible roles of animal fat, dietary fibre and alcohol

Appleby¹,

et al. 1998

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OBJECTIVE: To examine the associations of diet and other lifestyle factors with body mass index (BMI) using data from the Oxford Vegetarian Study. SUBJECTS: 1914 male and 3378 female non-smokers aged 20±89 y at recruitment to the study. MEASUREMENTS: All subjects completed a dietalifestyle questionnaire at recruitment giving details of their usual diet and other characteristics including height and weight, smoking and drinking habits, amount of exercise, occupation and reproductive history. Answers to the food frequency questionnaire were used to classify subjects as either meat eaters or non-meat eaters, and to estimate intakes of animal fat and dietary ®bre. Subjects were further classi®ed according to their alcohol consumption, exercise level, social class, past smoking habits and parity. RESULTS: Mean BMI was lower in non-meat eaters than in meat eaters in all age groups for both men and women. Overall age-adjusted mean BMIs in kgam 2 were 23.18 and 22.05 for male meat eaters and non-meat eaters respectively (P`0.0001) and 22.32 and 21.32 for female meat eaters and non-meat eaters respectively (P`0.0001). In addition to meat consumption, dietary ®bre intake, animal fat intake, social class and past smoking were all independently associated with BMI in both men and women; alcohol consumption was independently associated with BMI in men, and parity was independently associated with BMI in women. After adjusting for these factors, the differences in mean BMI between meat eaters and non-meat eaters were reduced by 36% in men and 31% in women. CONCLUSIONS: Non-meat eaters are thinner than meat eaters. This may be partly due to a higher intake of dietary ®bre, a lower intake of animal fat, and only in men a lower intake of alcohol.

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“…[1][2][3]5,18,22,23 Explanations for the absence of such associations are unclear, particularly as participants' behaviours and levels of adiposity were in line with UK population estimates, the social class distribution of the cohort was reasonable and substantial differences were not found between those who attended and those who did not attend a clinic session.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have suggested that the accuracy of self-reported data may vary with body size, age, sex and social position. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Although overweight subjects tend to under-report their weight to a greater extent than those who are lean, mis-reporting occurs across all levels of body size. This suggests that 'figure consciousness' rather than body size per se may also be a source of bias.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dietary restraint and the mis-reporting of anthropometric measures by middle-aged adults

Cullum¹,

McCarthy

Gunnell

et al. 2003

Int J Obes

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OBJECTIVE:To assess whether levels of dietary restraint are associated with mis-reporting measures of adiposity by middle-aged adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study of middle-aged men and women, the parents of a group of young adults followed up since birth. METHODS: In all, 631 couples were mailed questionnaires and asked to record their height, weight and waist circumference. A paper tape measure with instructions for use was attached. Couples also completed the dietary restraint section of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire, and provided information on employment and lifestyle habits. A subsample of participants was then invited to attend a clinic where detailed anthropometric measures were taken. RESULTS: In all, 435 women (69%) and 332 men (55%) completed the questionnaire; of those invited, 182 (85%) women and 102 (61%) men attended a clinic session. Regression analyses showed that the dietary restraint score was associated with the mis-reporting of BMI by women (Po0.01), but not men (test for interaction with gender, P ¼ 0.11). In women, the difference between the measured and reported BMI increased by 0.36 kg/m 2 (0.11-0.61) per unit increase in restraint score. This association was independent of age, smoking, social class, slimming, exercise frequency or television viewing time, but was attenuated in models controlling for measured BMI. The dietary restraint score was not associated with mis-reporting of waist circumference in men or women. CONCLUSIONS: Dietary restraint score may be a useful tool for identifying individuals more likely to mis-report anthropometric measurements, although associations may vary by gender.

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Desire for the body normal: body image and discrepancies between self reported and measured height and weight in a British population.

Abstract: Conclusions: The association between geographical area and cervical cancer persists after controlling for 10 other factors.

Cited by 85 publications

References 3 publications

Lay definitions of ideal weight and overweight

Lay definitions of ideal weight and overweight

Low body mass index in non-meat eaters: the possible roles of animal fat, dietary fibre and alcohol

Dietary restraint and the mis-reporting of anthropometric measures by middle-aged adults

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