title: Who are the children with adequate weight who feel fat?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure the prevalence of children with adequate weight who feel fat and to examine the factors associated with this perception.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study with 901 schoolchildren aged 8-11 years selected by cluster sampling. The children had their weight and height measured, and answered a questionnaire that included a self-esteem scale and questions on self-perception of weight, and perception of parents' and friends' expectations regarding the child's weight.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The prevalence of children with BMI percentile < 85 who considered themselves fat was 13%, and the variables significantly associated with this perception were: female gender (OR = 2.45; 95%CI 1.42-4.24), 11 years of age (OR = 2.35; 95%CI 1.13-4.89), lowest quartile of self-esteem (OR = 2.08; 95%CI 1.17-3.68), the perception that parents expect them to be thinner (OR = 3.00; 95%IC 1.52-5.91), and body mass index percentile (OR = 1.04; 95%CI 1.03-1.06).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The perception of being fat when having adequate weight afflicts children before preadolescence, particularly girls aged 11 years, with higher body mass index, lower self-esteem, and who think their parents expect them to be thinner. Future studies should examine in depth the causes and consequences of this attitude.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Social, Pós-Graduação em Epidemiologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brasil. poabd0a3@terra.com.br
authors.forename: Andréa Poyastro
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.forename: Elsa Regina Justo
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Giugliani
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D001938:Brazil; D002648:Child; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012649:Self Concept; D012737:Sex Factors