[Concordance between body self-perception and BMI estimated in a population of volunteers recruited on the IV National Day of Obese People].

OBJECTIVES

To assess the concordance between corporal self-perception and BMI calculated in a population of volunteers.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES

to know the percentage of overweight, normoweight and obese individuals in this population.

SUBJECTS

The study includes 160 volunteers recruited at the Gómez Ulla and Severo Ochoa Hospitals in Madrid during the 4th edition of the "Obesity Day".

ACTIONS

A total of 160 interviews were carried out, comprising a first group of 10 questions about how obesity is understood, how they classify themselves by self-perception (obese, overweight or normoweight individuals), the incidence of obesity in the family, living habits and the number of previous failed attempts to lose weight. In the case of a positive response to the last question, the survey is extended to 19 questions, analyzing the reasons, prescriptors, methods used, and weight loss results obtained.

RESULTS

The mean Body Mass Index (BMI) of the interviewees was 26.2 +/- 4.97 kg/m2, with 27.45 +/- 5.4 kg/m2 for males and 25.76 +/- 4.7 kg/m2 for women. Overweight men represented 32.5%, with 27.3% overweight women, while obese men accounted for 25.6% and obese women amounted to 20.6%. The differences were not significant between sexes, normoweight, overweight and obesity groups. The concordance between self-perception and BMI using the kappa index was 0,464 for the total sample, 0.229 for males and 0.527 for women, and according to the valuation scale proposed by Landis and Koch, it would correspond to a moderate degree of agreement for the population in general, medium for men and moderate for women.

CONCLUSIONS

Overweight and obesity affect a high percentage of the Spanish population (almost 50%). Women show greater concern about being overweight, are more likely to participate in prevention campaigns, and present a corporal perception more in line with their true weight. Preventive campaigns should be implemented to reach the male population better, taking into account that this population presents a greater cardiovascular risk. It is important to place the problem of obesity in the right terms, without any "obesophobia" leading to disorders of the eating behaviour, while indicating the importance of the risk attributable to obesity and excess weight.