The Influence of Weight Status Duration on Weight Perception Accuracy

To examine the association between weight status duration and weight perception accuracy.

Retrospective study.

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003 to 2006.

A total of 4029 adults aged 20 years or older.

To assess weight status duration, participants' past (10 years ago) and present body mass indexes were used to create 4 groups: normal weight in the past and present (group 1), normal weight in the past but overweight/obese in the present (group 2), overweight/obese in the present but not in the past (group 3), and overweight/obese in the past and present (group 4). We classified individuals as having an accurate/inaccurate weight perception based on present body mass index and whether they considered themselves as overweight, underweight, or about the right weight.

Logistic regression.

Our findings suggest that participants who were overweight/obese in the past, present, or during both time periods had increased odds of possessing an inaccurate weight perception. Furthermore, being normal weight in the past but obese in the present increased the odds of having an inaccurate weight perception nearly 10-fold and almost 5-fold for those obese in both the past and present.

Studies such as this can aid clinicians in identifying individuals who may have increased odds of inaccurately identifying their weight status, thereby providing additional opportunities to facilitate weight loss.