Do the obese know they are obese?

The categories of weight status defined by the World Health Organizations (underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese) are widely used by researchers and clinicians, however, little is known about whether free‐living individuals can accurately place themselves within these categories. The objectives of this study were to examine the ability of adults to self‐report their weight status category and how much they would need to weigh in order to be classified as obese. We recruited 104 white and African American men and women 45 to 64 years of age to participate in a body composition study. Prior to the anthropometric measurements, subjects self‐reported their height, weight, weight status category (underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese) and how much they would have to weigh to be classified as obese. Body mass index (BMI) calculated using self‐reported height and weight was similar to that calculated using measured data (r = 0.98), and 85% of subjects classified as obese using measured BMI were identified as obese using self‐reported BMI. In contrast, only 15% of obese subjects correctly classified themselves as obese. On average normal weight participants were reasonably accurate in their assessment of how much they would need to weigh to be classified as obese (mean 29.6 kg/m 2 ), but obese subjects over‐estimated the amount (36.5 kg/m 2 ). In conclusion, obese adults can report their weight and height with reasonable accuracy, but are poor at reporting their weight status category, and most do not consider themselves to be obese. This research was supported by RO1 DK069678‐01 and RR‐000046.