Equal Weights but Different Weight Perceptions among US Adolescents

Abstract

We investigate sex and race/ethnic differences in adolescents’ perceptions of the same objectively measured weight in a nationally representative US sample. At the same BMI z-score, girls perceive themselves as heavier than boys. Regardless of sex and relative to Whites, African-Americans perceive the same BMI z-score as leaner and Native Americans are more likely to perceive objectively heavier weights as ‘about the right weight’. Asian boys consider a narrower weight range to be ‘about the right weight’ relative to White boys, and Asian girls are less likely than White girls to perceive objectively lower weights as ‘about the right weight’.