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School-level self-reported versus objective measurements of body mass index in public high school students.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Thompson, HR; Madsen, KA; Nguyen, C; Argenio, K; D'Agostino, E; Konty, K; Day, S
Published in: Prev Med
September 2023

Population-level surveillance of student weight status (particularly monitoring students with a body mass index (BMI) ≥95th percentile) remains of public health interest. However, there is mounting concern about objectively measuring student BMI in schools. Using data from the nation's largest school district, we determined how closely students' self-reported BMI approximates objectively-measured BMI, aggregated at the school level, to inform decision-making related to school BMI measurement practices. Using non-matched data from n = 82,543 students with objective height/weight data and n = 7676 with self-reported height/weight from 84 New York City high schools (88% non-white and 75% free or reduced-price meal-eligible enrollment), we compared school-level mean differences in height, weight, BMI, and proportion of students by weight status, between objective and self-reported measures. At the school-level, the self-reported measurement significantly underestimated weight (-1.38 kg; 95% CI: -1.999, -0.758) and BMI (-0.38 kg/m2; 95% CI: -0.574, -0.183) compared to the objective measurement. Based on the objective measurement, 12.1% of students were classified as having obesity and 6.3% as having severe obesity (per CDC definition); the self-report data yielded 2.5 (95% CI: -1.964, -0.174) and 1.4 (95% CI: -2.176, -0.595) percentage point underestimates in students with obesity and severe obesity, respectively. This translates to 13% of students with obesity and 21% of students with severe obesity being misclassified if using self-reported BMI. School-level high school students' self-reported data underestimate the prevalence of students with obesity and severe obesity and is particularly poor at identifying highest-risk students based on BMI percentile.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Prev Med

DOI

EISSN

1096-0260

Publication Date

September 2023

Volume

174

Start / End Page

107616

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Students
  • Self Report
  • Public Health
  • Obesity, Morbid
  • Obesity
  • Humans
  • Body Weight
  • Body Mass Index
  • 4206 Public health
  • 4202 Epidemiology
 

Citation

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MLA
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Thompson, H. R., Madsen, K. A., Nguyen, C., Argenio, K., D’Agostino, E., Konty, K., & Day, S. (2023). School-level self-reported versus objective measurements of body mass index in public high school students. Prev Med, 174, 107616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107616
Thompson, Hannah R., Kristine A. Madsen, Caroline Nguyen, Kira Argenio, Emily D’Agostino, Kevin Konty, and Sophia Day. “School-level self-reported versus objective measurements of body mass index in public high school students.Prev Med 174 (September 2023): 107616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107616.
Thompson HR, Madsen KA, Nguyen C, Argenio K, D’Agostino E, Konty K, et al. School-level self-reported versus objective measurements of body mass index in public high school students. Prev Med. 2023 Sep;174:107616.
Thompson, Hannah R., et al. “School-level self-reported versus objective measurements of body mass index in public high school students.Prev Med, vol. 174, Sept. 2023, p. 107616. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2023.107616.
Thompson HR, Madsen KA, Nguyen C, Argenio K, D’Agostino E, Konty K, Day S. School-level self-reported versus objective measurements of body mass index in public high school students. Prev Med. 2023 Sep;174:107616.
Journal cover image

Published In

Prev Med

DOI

EISSN

1096-0260

Publication Date

September 2023

Volume

174

Start / End Page

107616

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Students
  • Self Report
  • Public Health
  • Obesity, Morbid
  • Obesity
  • Humans
  • Body Weight
  • Body Mass Index
  • 4206 Public health
  • 4202 Epidemiology