Table 2.
Demographic characteristics of the participants by weight perception
| Characteristic | Overweight | Normal Weight | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accurate perceivers (n=895) |
Misperceivers (n=267) |
P | Accurate perceivers (n=892) |
Misperceivers (n=170) |
P | |
| Age, mean (±SD), years | 21.7 (2.1) | 21.4 (2.1) | .150 | 21.2 (2.1) | 21.5 (2.0) | .035 |
| Body mass index, (±SD), kg/m2 | 33.1 (6.5) | 28.6 (3.7) | <.001 | 21.2 (2.2) | 23.2 (1.5) | <.001 |
| Race/ethnicity, (%) | <.001 | <.001 | ||||
| White | 241 (27.2) | 42 (15.7) | 267 (30.1) | 51 (30.7) | ||
| Black | 206 (23.3) | 81 (30.3) | 224 (25.3) | 18 (10.8) | ||
| Hispanics | 439 (49.6) | 144 (53.9) | 396 (44.6) | 97 (58.4) | ||
| Marital status, (%) | .849 | .238 | ||||
| Never married | 460 (51.4) | 139 (52.1) | 521 (58.4) | 91 (53.5) | ||
| Living together/ever married | 435 (48.6) | 128 (47.9) | 371 (41.6) | 79 (46.5) | ||
| Education, (%) | <.001 | .422 | ||||
| Did not complete HS | 183 (20.7) | 76 (29.5) | 167 (19.0) | 30 (18.0) | ||
| Currently enrolled or HS graduate | 382 (43.2) | 131 (50.8) | 440 (50.2) | 77 (46.1) | ||
| At least some college education | 319 (36.1) | 51 (19.8) | 270 (30.8) | 60 (35.9) | ||
| Household income, (%) | .269 | .207 | ||||
| <30,000 | 716 (85.6) | 207 (88.5) | 680 (84.8) | 134 (88.7) | ||
| 30,000 or more | 120 (14.4) | 27 (11.5) | 122 (15.2) | 17 (11.3) | ||
| Work (hours/week), (%) | .011 | .212 | ||||
| Do not work | 442 (49.6) | 159 (60.0) | 455 (51.3) | 77 (45.6) | ||
| ~20 | 83 (9.3) | 18 (6.8) | 97 (10.9) | 16 (9.5) | ||
| 21 or more | 366 (41.1) | 88 (33.2) | 335 (37.8) | 76 (45.0) | ||
| Internet, (%) | <.001 | .882 | ||||
| Do not use | 169 (19.1) | 98 (36.7) | 177 (20.1) | 35(20.6) | ||
| Use | 715 (80.9) | 169 (63.3) | 704 (79.9) | 135 (79.4) | ||
SD- Standard deviation; HS- High School