Almost one third of teen boys inaccurately perceive their weight

A new research has suggested that one third of teen boys inaccurately perceive their weight, which can influence their eating habits and, consequently, their health.

The research at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona (UAB) analyzed the effects weight perception had on the boys' behaviour when trying to lose or maintain their weight.

The research discovered that up to 28 percent of the participants were inaccurate on estimating their weight status and among those with a low weight status, 43 percent overestimated their weight level, while 86 percent of those who were obese underestimated their real weight status.

Among those who were slightly overweight, 40 percent underestimated their weight status and believed they had a normal weight and the majority of boys with a normal weight status (85 percent) were accurate in their perception and 5 percent perceived that they were overweight.

Lead author Carlos Almenara said that they have discovered that if a teenage boy with normal weight perceives that he is overweight, the possibilities of him going on a diet are as high as if he really was overweight and something similar occurs with unhealthy weight-control behaviours, such as skipping a meal or eating very little food.

Almenara added that in this case, the probability of doing these things is as high among those who are overweight and those who think they are and these are particularly important discoveries when they consider the high percentage of adolescents who are trying to lose or control their weight, given that 25 percent informed them of having gone on a diet at least once in the past year or of having unhealthy weight-control behaviours.