Women view their weight wrong: Study

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDNov 23 2010

Researchers have found that among more than 2,200 women ages 18 to 25 seen at several Texas reproductive-health clinics there were many who did not know if they weighed normal or were overweight.

The team found that this “weight misperception” was common among both normal-weight and overweight women. They found that of the 1,062 study participants who were normal weight or underweight, 16 percent believed themselves to be overweight. Overall 36% normal weight women thought themselves as overweight. 37 percent of overweight women and 10.5 percent of obese women on the other hand thought they weighted normal or too low. The researchers believe that such misconceptions may lead to unhealthy lifestyle habits. They noted that the normal weight women who thought themselves as overweight tried unhealthy diet attempts like skipping meals, abusing diuretics (water pills) or using diet pills.

The findings appeared in journal Obstetrics & Gynaecology. Dr. Mahbubur Rahman, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston said, “Since one in four overweight and obese women think that they are normal weight, it is a big obstacle to obesity prevention efforts… We think that many people do not know their weight status, and the range of normal-weight, overweight and obese categories.” He suggested people can measure their own body mass index (BMI) by dividing their weight (in kilograms) by the square of their height in meters. A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 falls into the overweight category; and people with a BMI of 30 or higher are in the obesity category.

Rahman added that doctors and other health providers also need to be aware of normal weight and BMI to offer guidance and advice to their patients. The team also found that weight misperceptions varied by race. Overweight African-American women were nearly three times as likely as overweight white women to consider themselves normal-weight. That racial difference has been noted earlier in previous research on weight perceptions.