Who's overweight? Comparison of the medical definition and community views

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the extent to which people who are medically defined as overweight perceive themselves to be overweight. Design: Secondary data analysis of the National Health Survey and the National Nutrition Survey conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 1995. Participants: 10652 people aged 18 years and over (5076 men, 5576 women) in a multistage cluster sample of households throughout Australia. Main outcome measures: Body mass index (BMI) based on measured height and weight; self-reported perception of body weight (underweight, acceptable weight, or overweight) Results: Among people with a measured BMI ≥ 25, 49.3% of men (95% CI, 48.1%-50.5%) and 72.0% of women (95..