ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2014
How accurate is web-based self-reported height, weight, and body mass index in young adults?
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 110 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
110 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Dietary E-Health Interventions for Adults With Severe Mental Illness: A Systematic Review.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Pooled it
- Efficacy of technology-based personalised feedback on diet quality in young Australian adults: results for the advice, ideas and motivation for my eating (Aim4Me) randomised controlled trial.Public health nutrition · 2023Trial
- Effectiveness of Web-Based Personalized Nutrition Advice for Adults Using the eNutri Web App: Evidence From the EatWellUK Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Trial
- Three-Year Follow-Up of Participants from a Self-Weighing Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of obesity · 2017Trial
- Characteristics of European adults who dropped out from the Food4Me Internet-based personalised nutrition intervention.Public health nutrition · 2017Trial
- Clustering of adherence to personalised dietary recommendations and changes in healthy eating index within the Food4Me study.Public health nutrition · 2016Trial
- Changing Behavioral Lifestyle Risk Factors Related to Cognitive Decline in Later Life Using a Self-Motivated eHealth Intervention in Dutch Adults.Journal of medical Internet research · 2016Trial
- Training response inhibition to food is associated with weight loss and reduced energy intake.Appetite · 2015Trial
- Trial
- Longitudinal accuracy of web-based self-reported weights: results from the Hopkins POWER Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Trial
- The Impact of Fear of Missing out (FoMO) on Addictive Eating: A Moderated Mediation Model.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Mindfulness as a Protective Factor Against Orthorexia: The Mediating Role of Body Image Anxiety.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The accuracy of self-reported height, weight and BMI in a sample of emerging adult college students across California: an observational study.BMC medical research methodology · 2026Observational
- Associations between Eating Behaviours and Psychological Characteristics with Body Mass Index Change and Appetite-Related Changes during Incretin-Based Therapy.Obesity facts · 2026Article
- Plant-based protein consumption patterns among Saudi Generation Z: a cross-sectional study of dietary frequencies, health outcomes, and sustainable eating behaviors.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Optimizing myopia screening referral guidelines for children aged 4 to 18 based on non-cycloplegic indicators.BMC ophthalmology · 2025Article
- Examining ethnoracial status as a predictor of changes in body mass index and eating pathology over 20-year follow-up.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2025Article
- Validation of a Questionnaire Assessing the Link Between Affective State and Physical Activity in Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- The Impact of Technology-Enabled Medical Nutrition Therapy on Weight Loss in Adults With Overweight and Obesity: Retrospective Observational Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Observational
- Chronotype Predicts Body Mass Index via Emotion Regulation Strategy Use and Emotional Eating.Brain and behavior · 2025Article
50 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundWeb-based approaches are an effective and convenient medium to deliver eHealth interventions. However, few studies have attempted to evaluate the accuracy of online self-reported weight, and only one has assessed the accuracy of online self-reported height and body mass index (BMI).
objectiveThis study aimed to validate online self-reported height, weight, and calculated BMI against objectively measured data in young Australian adults.
methodsParticipants aged 18-35 years were recruited via advertisements on social media sites and reported their current height and weight as part of an online survey. They then subsequently had the same measures objectively assessed by a trained researcher.
resultsSelf-reported height was significantly overestimated by a mean of 1.36 cm (SD 1.93; P<.001), while self-reported weight was significantly underestimated by -0.55 kg (SD 2.03; P<.001). Calculated BMI was also underestimated by -0.56 kg/m(2) (SD 0.08; P<.001). The discrepancy in reporting resulted in the misclassification of the BMI category of three participants. Measured and self-reported data were strongly positively correlated (height: r=.98, weight: r=.99, BMI: r=.99; P<.001). When accuracy was evaluated by BMI category and gender, weight remained significantly underreported by females (P=.002) and overweight/obese participants (P=.02).
conclusionsThere was moderate to high agreement between self-reported and measured anthropometric data. Findings suggest that online self-reported height and weight can be a valid method of collecting anthropometric data.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.