Lynn Romejko Jacobs
Objective: This study’s purpose is advancing knowledge about perceptions of healthy body fat and BMI among undergraduate students, examining the relationship between believed and actual body characteristics. Participants: In September 2009, 413 freshmen completed a survey asking students to self-assess body fat percentage, BMI and weight among other questions. Methods: Students were surveyed prior to and after taking body measurements. Regression was used to understand how different categories predicted level of accuracy in students’ assessments. Results: Findings suggest students less accurately estimated BMI than body fat percentage. Interactions suggest females and males differ in estimation accuracy and this varied by fat categories. Additionally, 90% of students believed body fat percentage easier to understand than BMI. Conclusions: Since body fat percentage was significantly better understood, this measurement should be used to educate individuals on healthy weight and body composition status on a wider scale. The prevalence of obesity is increasing worldwide and is linked to poor perception of body image. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationships between body image (BI) and body mass index (BMI) with weight control practices among university students. A cross-sectional study on a sample of 308 university students (150 men and 158 women) aged 18 to 25 was carried out. Face-to-face interviews were conducted based on a questionnaire that included socio-demographic, physical activity, figure rating scale (FRS) and dissatisfaction with body image (IDB). The majority of participants (81%: 58.2% women and 41.8% men) were dissatisfied with their BI. Women wanted to lose weight and preferred to diet for exercise, while men wanted to gain weight and preferred to exercise for diet (p
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