engleski

Assessment of nutritional status and differences in self-reported and measured height and weight in the student population

Nutritional status is an important indicator of the health status and physical ability of an individual. Commonly used tools to evaluate nutritional status include anthropometric measurements and body mass index. The aim of this study was to compare values and classification obtained by various tools. Results showed differences between the self-reported and measured values for height and body mass. The majority of the student population overestimates their body height, female participants underestimate body weight while male overestimate it. A statistically significant difference between self-reported and measured values was shown for body height but not for body weight. Over or underestimation impacts body mass index values and results in lower values which might result in misclassification. Results also indicate that female students tend to see themselves as overweight, 14% have increased body weight, but 39% of female participants perceive themselves as such. Unlike women, men assess their own figure better. BMI and body composition (fat content) are confirmed as a good choice to evaluate nutritional status in studies conducted on student population while self-reported values due to shift in values should be used only in studies where other options are not available

nutritional status ; self-report ; body mass index ; student population

nije evidentirano