title: Equal weights but different weight perceptions among US adolescents.
abstract: We investigate sex and race/ethnic differences in adolescents' perceptions of the same objectively measured weight in a nationally representative US sample. At the same BMI z-score, girls perceive themselves as heavier than boys. Regardless of sex and relative to Whites, African-Americans perceive the same BMI z-score as leaner and Native Americans are more likely to perceive objectively heavier weights as 'about the right weight'. Asian boys consider a narrower weight range to be 'about the right weight' relative to White boys, and Asian girls are less likely than White girls to perceive objectively lower weights as 'about the right weight'.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802-6207, USA. mmartin@pop.psu.edu
authors.forename: Molly A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: Ashleigh L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Frisco
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014796:Visual Perception; D014892:Weight Perception
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 2006 Dec;39(8):729-40
references.pmid: 16927386
references.citation: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1999 Jun;38(6):754-60
references.pmid: 10361795
references.citation: Obes Res. 2002 Mar;10(3):158-66
references.pmid: 11886938
references.citation: Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006 Feb;14(2):301-8
references.pmid: 16571857
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 1996 Jan;18(1):20-6
references.pmid: 8750424
references.citation: J Clin Child Psychol. 2001 Sep;30(3):338-48
references.pmid: 11501251
references.citation: Int J Obes (Lond). 2006 Sep;30(9):1375-81
references.pmid: 16552407
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 1994 May;15(3):263-8
references.pmid: 8075099
references.citation: Adolescence. 1997 Winter;32(128):863-80
references.pmid: 9426809
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2001 May;107(5):1138-46
references.pmid: 11331699
references.citation: J Youth Adolesc. 1986 Dec;15(6):461-74
references.pmid: 24302000
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 2005 Nov;37(5):391-6
references.pmid: 16227124
references.citation: J Adolesc Health. 1997 Jun;20(6):459-65
references.pmid: 9178083
references.citation: Eat Behav. 2003 Jan;3(4):307-23
references.pmid: 15000992
references.citation: Obes Res. 2004 Nov;12(11):1866-74
references.pmid: 15601984
references.citation: Annu Rev Public Health. 2004;25:357-76
references.pmid: 15015925
references.citation: Health Educ Res. 2001 Oct;16(5):521-32
references.pmid: 11675800
references.citation: J Psychosom Res. 2002 Nov;53(5):963-74
references.pmid: 12445586
references.citation: Int J Eat Disord. 1995 Sep;18(2):173-9
references.pmid: 7581420
references.citation: J Health Soc Behav. 2010 Jun;51(2):215-28
references.pmid: 20617760
references.citation: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999 Jul;153(7):741-7
references.pmid: 10401809
references.citation: Pediatrics. 2002 Jan;109(1):45-60
references.pmid: 11773541