Determinação do estado nutricional: qual o valor de peso e altura autorreferidos?

Introduction: High prevalences of overweight and obesity are described in different populations. However, a large portion of the population has inaccurate perceptions about their body weight and, consequently, about nutritional classification. Objective: To compare the self - reported perception of body weight versus nutritional classification based on the measurement performed by a health professional, in a representative sample of the population of a large city in southeastern Brazil. Material and Methods: A cross - sectional study was conducted by a population survey in a medium - sized city in southeastern Brazil. Data collection was performed from June 2014 to April 2016. Household sampling was used in three stages and approximately 4,800 households were visited, from which 1,032 participants were randomly selected and included in the study. Results: The mean age of participants was 44 ± 13.2 years, of which 53.2% were female. Based on self-report of weight and height and calculation of body mass index (BMI), it was observed that 58.7% of the population were overweight. Of the 521 individuals who were able to perform weight and height assessment by health professionals, we observed that when comparing the nutritional classification based on self-report and that obtained from data measured by professionals, it was observed that the number of cases of obesity was 7.1% higher. Conclusion: Considering the data of the present study, the self-perception of excess weight may not be adequate as a tool for the evaluation of populations at risk for obesity/overweight, in addition, the results reinforce the need for education about BMI use as well as importance of the guidelines by health professionals.