title: Patient perception of ideal body weight and the effect of body mass index.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Despite much effort, obesity remains a significant public health problem. One of the main contributing factors is patients' perception of their target ideal body weight. This study aimed to assess this perception.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study took place in an urban area, with the majority of participants in the study being Hispanic (65.7%) or African-American (28.0%). Patients presented to an outpatient clinic were surveyed regarding their ideal body weight and their ideal BMI calculated. Subsequently they were classified into different categories based on their actual measured BMI. Their responses for ideal BMI were compared.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 254 surveys, mean measured BMI was 31.71 ± 8.01. Responses to ideal BMI had a range of 18.89-38.15 with a mean of 25.96 ± 3.25. Mean (±SD) ideal BMI for patients with a measured BMI of <18.5, 18.5-24.9, 25-29.9, and ≥30 was 20.14 ± 1.46, 23.11 ± 1.68, 25.69 ± 2.19, and 27.22 ± 3.31, respectively. These differences were highly significant (P < 0.001, ANOVA).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most patients had an inflated sense of their target ideal body weight. Patients with higher measured BMI had higher target numbers for their ideal BMI. Better education of patients is critical for obesity prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1650 Selwyn Avenue, Suite 4E, Bronx, NY 10457, USA.
authors.forename: Rozhin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naghshizadian
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1650 Selwyn Avenue, Suite 4E, Bronx, NY 10457, USA.
authors.forename: Amir A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Rahnemai-Azar
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1650 Selwyn Avenue, Suite 4E, Bronx, NY 10457, USA.
authors.forename: Kruthi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kella
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1650 Selwyn Avenue, Suite 4E, Bronx, NY 10457, USA.
authors.forename: Michael M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1650 Selwyn Avenue, Suite 4E, Bronx, NY 10457, USA.
authors.forename: Marius L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Calin
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1650 Selwyn Avenue, Suite 4E, Bronx, NY 10457, USA.
authors.forename: Shahida
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bibi
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1650 Selwyn Avenue, Suite 4E, Bronx, NY 10457, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Farkas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D056865:Ideal Body Weight; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D010465:Perception; D012649:Self Concept; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult