title: BMI percentiles and body image discrepancy in black and white adolescents.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between body image discrepancy (BID) and weight status as measured by BMI percentiles (BMI%) among adolescents. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 265 adolescents at an urban clinic (females: 116 blacks and 63 whites; males: 62 blacks and 24 whites). BID was the difference between ideal and current body images selected from a 13-figure rating scale, and BMI% were calculated from measured weight and height. Regression analyses were conducted separately for girls and boys. Over half of the female and one-third of male adolescents wanted a thinner body. BID was positively related to BMI% with a one-unit increase in BID associated with a 4.84-unit increase in BMI% among females and a 3.88-unit increase in BMI% in males. Both female and male adolescents reported BID beginning at a BMI% corresponding to a normal weight. At zero BID, white females had a BMI% of 62.6, statistically different from black females (BMI% 69.7). At zero BID, white males had a mean BMI% of 69 and black males at a BMI% of 75.8, not statistically different. While black and white differences exist in BID, black female adolescents like their white counterparts are reporting BID at a weight range that is within the "normal". Our study portends the increase in BID with the increasing prevalence of obesity and highlights the need for interventions to help adolescents develop a healthy and realistic body image and healthy ways to manage their weight.
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA. abanitt@kumc.edu
authors.forename: Angela A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Banitt
authors.forename: Harsohena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Kim M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pulvers
authors.forename: Nicole L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Nollen
authors.forename: Marjorie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ireland
authors.forename: Marian L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Fitzgibbon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044383:Black People / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight / Q000208:ethnology; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014892:Weight Perception; D044465:White People / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*