A recent survey of more than 3,500 college applicants found that
more than a third couldn’t report their weight accurately, while
overweight and obese men were more likely to underestimate their
weight than women. “This misperception is important because the
first step in dealing with a weight problem is knowing that you
have one,” said Margarita Teran-Garcia, M.D., a professor of
food science and human nutrition at the University of Illinois.
The study is part of the Up Amigos project, a collaboration
between researchers at the University of Illinois and the
Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potos in Mexico. In physical
exams, the height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of 3,622
18- to 20-year-old applicants to the Mexican university were
recorded. The applicants also completed surveys in which they
reported their weight. Among the men, 33.6 percent were
overweight or obese, but only 16.9 percent described themselves
as being in those categories. For women, the gap between
perception and reality was smaller