perception, dietary quality, obesity, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Lee, Jonq-Ying

Lin, Chung-Tung Jordan

English

Research Papers in Economics

Self-Perception of Weight and Health and Dietary Quality 
 
 
 
 
Chung-Tung Jordan Lin* and Jonq-Ying Lee** 
*Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 
Chung-Tung.Lin@fda.hhs.gov. 
**Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Florida, 
JonqYing@ufl.edu. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Poster prepared for presentation at the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association 
2010 AAEA, CAES, & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, Denver, July 25-July 27, 2010. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright 2010 by Chung-Tung Jordan Lin and Jonq-Ying Lee.  All rights reserved.  
Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any 
means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. 
 
 Self-Perception of Weight and Health and Dietary Quality
Chung-Tung Jordan Lin, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, College Park, MD 20740 
Jonq-Ying Lee, Department of Food and Resource Economics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32306
Past research showed that an individual’s weight and health 
perception may affect his/her physical activity and diet 
behaviors.  
-- overweight perception among overweight men is                  
significantly associated with decreased odds of meeting       
recommended leisure time activities and of consuming 
sufficient fruit servings per day compared with acceptable 
weight men (Atlantis et al., 2008). 
-- dietary quality is positively associated with perceived 
health ( Keller et al. (1997) and Watters and Satia (2009)).
Yet, many individuals have misperception of their weight status 
(Kuchler and Variyam, 2002 and 2003; Chang and Christakis, 
2003).
-- when obese or overweight individuals do not see 
themselves as overweight, they may not be motivated to 
adopt and adhere to healthier dietary choices.
-- when those who have normal weight or are underweight           
believe they are overweight, they may practice unnecessary 
and harmful diet to change their weight.  
Despite the potential implications of weight and health 
perceptions on individuals’ health and dietary practices, little 
existing research has examined how these perceptions are related 
to individual’s dietary quality.  Particularly,
-- what is the dietary quality of those who are overweight 
or obese but do not see themselves as such?
-- what is the dietary quality of those who are not 
overweight or obese but see themselves as such?
-- what is the dietary quality of those of those are 
overweight or obese and see themselves as such?
HEI scores are:
-- 2.6 points LOWER for underestimate assessors
-- 2.3 points LOWER for overweight assessors
-- 1.6 points LOWER for overestimate assessors
(relative to “other” individuals)
HEI scores are POSITIVELY related to
-- excellent or good perceived health 
-- female gender
-- 64+ years old
-- other race (non-Hispanic white/black) or Hispanic 
-- ate breakfast the previous day
-- participated in Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)   
program
HEI scores are NEGATIVELY related to
-- 34-50 years old
-- non-Hispanic black 
-- current and previous smoking
-- more hours in watching TV or computer
-- food insecurity
Social recognition theory (Bandura 1986) and health belief model (Glanz et al. 1997) suggest lower 
dietary quality can occur because:
-- those who are overweight or obese do not see themselves as such fail to see the risk (outcome                                  
expectancy hypothesis);
-- those who are overweight or obese and accept their weight status feel they cannot succeed in 
changing their diet (behavioral capability hypothesis);
-- those who are not overweight or obese but see themselves as such perceive nonexistent threat 
(perceived risk hypothesis).
Empirical model  -- Household production theory
Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Thoughts and Actions.  Englewood Cliff, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Chang, VW, and NA Christakis (2003).  “Self perception of weight appropriateness in the United   
States.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 24: 332-9.
Glanz, K., F.M. Lewis, and B.K. Rimer (1997).  “Linking theory, research, and practice.”  In Health 
Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice, eds. Glanz, K., F.M. Lewis, and 
B.K. Rimer. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 
Keller, HH, T. Øsbye, and E. Bright-see (1997). “Predictors of dietary intake in Ontario seniors.” 
Canadian Journal of Public Health 88: 305-9. 
Kuchler, F. and J.N. Variyam (2002). “Misperceptions in self-assessed weight status vary along 
demographic lines.”  Food Review Winter: 21-7.
--------------- (2003). “Mistakes were made: misperceptions as a barrier to reducing overweight.” 
International Journal of Obesity 37: 856-861.
Watters, J.L. and J.A. Satia (2009). “Psychological correlates of dietary fat intakes in African- 
American adults: a cross-section study.”  Nutrition Journal 8: 15.
Holding other factors constant, the hypothesis that 
misperception of one’s weight status is associated with poorer 
dietary quality is not refuted by the data
Implications
-- need to educate consumers about their weight status
-- need to educate consumers about skills and knowledge 
related to healthy eating and diets
-- need to customize education and information to meet the 
challenges posed by misperception
-- need to use multi-pronged approach to addressing obesity 
and other diet-related illnesses  
FDA logo HHS logo
INTRODUCTION CONCEPTUAL AND EMPIRICAL MODELS REGRESSION ESTIMATES
CONCLUSIONS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OBJECTIVE
To test the hypothesis that misperception of one’s weight 
status is associated with poorer dietary quality, controlling 
for other factors such as life style behaviors, dietary and 
meal pattern and status, and demographics.
DATA AND METHODOLOGY
Self-perception and others  -- 2001-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES),
20+ years, non-pregnant, had reliable dietary intake information, n=4,431
Dietary quality -- 1995 USDA Health Eating Index (0 – 100)
Weighted descriptive statistics and weighted least-squares regression 
WEIGHT STATUS: PREVALENCE OF MISPERCEPTION
48
15
9
28
Overweight assessors (perception="overweight" BMI=obese or overweight
Underestimate assessors (perception="normal weight" BMI=obese or overweight
Overestimate assessors (perception="overweight" BMI=normal or underweight
Other
%
%
%
%
%
Healthy Eating Index: 64 out of 100

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 20+ years, non-pregnant, had reliable dietary intake information, n=4,431 Dietary quality --

Self-Perception of Weight and Health and Dietary Quality

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