A comparison of self-reported and measured height, weight and BMI in Australian adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between self-reported weight and height to actual weight and height in older Australian adolescents.

METHOD

Weights and heights of 572 adolescents aged 15-19 years who participated in the 1995 Australian National Health Survey (NHS) and National Nutrition Survey (NNS) were examined.

RESULTS

Self-reported heights were significantly higher than measured heights in participants. There were no differences in the accuracy of self-reported heights among the adolescents by gender. Self-reported weights were significantly lower than measured weights among both boys and girls (p < 0.01). There were no differences in the accuracy of self-reported weights among the boys and girls. Differences between actual weight and self-reported weight were significantly greater for overweight or obese adolescents compared with normal/underweight adolescents (p < 0.01). The use of self-reported weight and height resulted in the correct classification of overweight or obesity in 69% boys and 70% of girls.

CONCLUSIONS

There was no significant gender difference in reporting weight and height in older adolescents. Bias in reporting weight and height was much higher in overweight or obese adolescents than normal/underweight adolescents.

IMPLICATIONS

The percentage of misclassification of overweight or obesity from self-reported data in this study was 31% for boys and 30% for girls, respectively. Therefore, the self-reported weight and height of older adolescents needs to be more cautiously utilised. Efforts to improve the accuracy of self-reporting in older adolescents are needed if this measure is to be reliable.