title: Estimating the biases associated with self-perceived, self-reported, and measured BMI on mental health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of the study is to explore the relationship between individuals' perceptions of their weight-status, self-reported height and weight, and measured weight status.
  
  
  METHODS
  A national survey of 9,248 adolescents (47% male) between the ages of 11 and 27 is analyzed to determine whether inaccuracies in reporting are caused by misperception or conscious intent, and whether there tends to be a systematic bias in how individuals self-report. Self-esteem was used as an example of an important outcome variable in order to illustrate the magnitudes of the biases that may arise when using different measures of body size.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Our results indicate that measured obesity status is associated with the reduction in Rosenberg Self-Esteem (RSE) of 0.30 points (p-value 0.005) among adolescents and 0.20 points (p-value 0.002) among young adults; in addition, using self-reported height and weight as opposed to measured height and weight does not result in a statistically detectable difference in the estimates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Individuals' self-reports of height and weight are not as unreliable as we might have expected. Although estimates from measured height and weight are preferred, in the absence of such measures, self-reported measures would likely be a reliable alternative. The differences in self-perception of weight status, however, imply that it is not comparable to measured weight categories.
authors: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Analysis and Services Research Branch, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America.
authors: Mir M
authors: MM
authors: Ali
authors: Travis
authors: T
authors: Minor
authors: Aliaksandr
authors: A
authors: Amialchuk
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015982:Bias; D001827:Body Height; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors