Abstract

Misjudgement of height leads to a lack of willingness to make health-promoting changes and unhealthy weightloss behaviors, making obese children more likely to become obese adults. To estimate the frequency of height misperceptions in children and adolescents, we conducted a cross-sectional study as part of another study on eating disorders among Greek adolescents (National Institute for Educational Policy Research, Law No. 2018). 04). From January to December 2019, two trained assistants visited 83 primary and secondary schools in the western region of Greece, interviewing and anthropometrically measuring 3,504 children aged 10-16 (CL99%). bottom. Of the 3,504 children surveyed, 1,097 were obese, of which 424 were obese and 51 were underweight. For her 875 children (25%) who did not report weight or height and were classified as non-responders, no ‘perceived’ BMI was calculated. Weight bias was inversely associated with BMI, with obese and overweight non-obese children underestimating their weight, while underweight children overestimating their weight. Conversely, height bias was positively correlated with BMI bias. BMI bias was independent of gender, age, parental education, and place of residence. In summary, we can say that our study clearly supports existing findings on unrealistic body image in overweight children and adolescents. Timely recognition of these erroneous decisions can help motivate healthier eating habits, systematic physical activity, and weight management measures