title: Bias in reported body weight as a function of education, occupation, health and weight concern.
abstract: Comparison of self-reported and measured weights in a working population of 2046 men and 2393 women revealed systematic underreporting of 1.3% in men and 1.7% in women. Underreporting was significantly related to weight, height, and current participation in a weight reduction program in both men and women. In men only, it was also related to age, education, history of weight-control attempts, and history of weight-related health conditions. Overall, however, these predictor variables accounted for a small fraction of the variance in underreporting and the correlation between measured and self-reported weight was very high (rs = .99). It is concluded that self-reported body weight is an excellent approximation of actual weight across a broad range of population subgroups.
authors.affiliation: Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis 55454-1015, USA.
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Jeffery
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015982:Bias; D001828:Body Image; D001835:Body Weight; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D002321:Career Choice; D003625:Data Collection; D004038:Diet, Reducing / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D017132:Workplace