Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 21, 2026

Assessment of Child Anthropometry in a Large Epidemiologic Study
Published on: February 2, 2017
Physical characteristics associated with weight misperception among overweight and obese men: NHANES 1999-2006
Dwight W Lewis1, Gareth R Dutton, Olivia Affuso
1Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA; Nutrition Obesity Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA.
Objectives:
The purpose of this study was to (1) determine the prevalence of weight misperception among overweight and obese men with total body fat levels ≥ 25%, and (2) examine associations of weight misperception with anthropometric and body composition measures.
Methods:
Data came from 4,200 overweight or obese men from the 1999 to 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Weight misperception was operationalized as having a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-derived total body fat percentage ≥25% and classifying oneself as either "underweight" or "about right weight." Logistic regression was used to determine physical characteristics associated with weight misperception.
Results:
Weight misperception was highest among Mexican American (35.9%) followed by Black (30.8%) and White men (22.9%). Physical characteristics (OR, 95% CI) associated with weight misperception were decreased arm fat (0.95, 0.91-0.98), being overweight (9.02, 5.34-15.24), and having a waist circumference ≤ 94 cm (2.31, 1.72-3.09).
Conclusions:
Findings suggest that future research should include a measure of adiposity in the operationalization of weight misperception among male populations.
Related Concept Videos
Drug Dosing: Obese Patients
Obesity
Pharmacokinetics in Obese Patients: Drug Absorption and Distribution
Regression Toward the Mean
Apparent Weight and the Earth's Rotation
For an object on the Earth's equator, the net centripetal force that accounts for its rotation is the Earth's pull towards its center, or the weight minus the normal force that prevents it from piercing into the Earth's surface....
Apparent Weight
Consider a person standing on a bathroom scale inside an elevator. If the scale is accurate at rest, its reading equals the...

