Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41521298›Full record

Observational studyBMC medical research methodology2026

The accuracy of self-reported height, weight and BMI in a sample of emerging adult college students across California: an observational study.

Isabella U Yalif, Lindsay T Hoyt, Lucia Calderón, Tatyana Bidopia, Natasha L Burke, Benjamin W Chaffee, Ryan Gamba, Serge Atherwood, Jiwoon Bae, Alison K Cohen

Abstract readObservational Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Observational study in BMC medical research methodology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Isabella U YalifDepartment of Economics, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Pl, Nashville, TN, 37235, USA.
Lindsay T HoytDepartment of Psychology, Fordham University, 441 E Fordham Rd, Bronx, New York, NY, 10458, USA.
Lucia CalderónSchool of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, 550 16Th Street, 2Nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
Tatyana BidopiaDepartment of Psychology, Fordham University, 441 E Fordham Rd, Bronx, New York, NY, 10458, USA.
Natasha L BurkeDepartment of Psychology, Fordham University, 441 E Fordham Rd, Bronx, New York, NY, 10458, USA.
Benjamin W ChaffeeSchool of Dentistry, Division of Oral Epidemiology and Dental Public Health, University of California San Francisco, 95 Kirkham Street Box 1361, San Francisco, CA, 94066, USA.
Ryan GambaDepartment of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Hayward, CA, 94542, USA.
Serge AtherwoodSchool of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, 550 16Th Street, 2Nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA.
Jiwoon BaeDepartment of Psychology, Fordham University, 441 E Fordham Rd, Bronx, New York, NY, 10458, USA.
Alison K CohenSchool of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, 550 16Th Street, 2Nd Floor, San Francisco, CA, 94158, USA. alison.cohen@ucsf.edu.

Funding

The 3E Study: Economic and Educational Contributions to Emerging Adult Cardiometabolic HealthR01HL160703 · NHLBI · FORDHAM UNIVERSITY · PI Alison Cohen, Lindsay Till Hoyt · 2023 to 2026
$3.0M
Oral Health Influences Among Emerging Adult Women of Central and South American ancestryU01DE033953 · NIDCR · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI Benjamin W Chaffee · 2024 to 2026
$2.3M
NHLBI NIH HHS 1R01HL160703-01A1NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL160703NIDCR NIH HHS U01 DE033953NIDCR NIH HHS U01DE033953
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSelf-reported height and weight are pragmatic, lower-cost alternatives for objective measurements but are potentially less accurate. This study examines the accuracy of self-reported measurements in a population of emerging adults.

methodsParticipants were 603 emerging adult college students aged 18 to 24 who attend public Hispanic-Serving Institutions of higher education in California, USA. The population was heterogeneous by race/ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic position, and body size. Participants self-reported height and weight; height and weight were then objectively measured during an in-person visit.

resultsRelative to objective measurements, participants, on average, overreported their height by 1.53 cm and underreported their weight by 0.77 kg, leading to an average body mass index (BMI) underestimation of 0.73 kg/m2. The discrepancy between self-report and objective measures significantly differed by gender, race/ethnicity, and weight but not by age, sexual orientation, household poverty status, or disordered eating behaviors. Overall, 23.8% of participants with overweight or obesity would be assigned to a lower-weight BMI category based on their self-reported measurements (including 16.2% to normal weight).

conclusionsIn this sample of emerging adult college students, we found modest but statistically significant inaccuracies in self-reported height and weight that resulted in some misclassification of BMI-based weight status categories. Expressing self-reported BMI as a numerical value instead of categorically may be one approach to minimize bias. These results may inform bias-correction approaches in future emerging adult studies that lack the resources for in-person objective measures.

Indexed as

Body HeightBody Mass IndexBody WeightSelf ReportStudentsAdolescentAdultCaliforniaFemaleHumansMaleObesityUniversitiesYoung AdultAnthropometricsBody mass indexCollege studentsEmerging adultsHeightOverweightSelf-reportUSAWeight

Identifiers

PMID41521298
PMCPMC12888549

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.