TABLE 3.

Weight Status, Perceptions and Unhealthy Weight Control Behaviors Among Females Enrolled in Public High School: Massachusetts, 2003–2009 (n = 6,567)

Characteristic	Self-Reported Sexual Orientation^a					p Value
Characteristic	Exclusively Heterosexual, %	Heterosexual With Same-Sex Partners, %	Lesbian, %	Bisexual, %	Unsure of Sexual Orientation, %	p Value
Body mass index (BMI)
Mean BMI Z-score^b (SE)	0.37 (0.02)	0.58 (0.07)	0.69 (0.16)	0.77 (0.06)	0.51 (0.12)	<0.001
BMI category^b						<0.001
≤5^th percentile, underweight	1.4	1.3	1.9	1.6	2.1
5^th<BMI<85^th percentile, healthy weight	78.7	71.9	64.4	60.6	68.5
85^th≤B MI<95 ^th percentile, overweight	13.6	17.4	21.1	21.9	15.1
≥95^th percentile, obese	6.3	9.5	12.6	16.0	14.3
Self-perceived weight status						<0.001
Very underweight	1.9	2.0	6.8	2.9	5.7
Slightly underweight	8.7	8.8	4.1	7.3	7.2
About the right weight	55.0	47.3	61.1	39.5	47.9
Slightly overweight	30.2	32.5	15.6	40.5	24.6
Very overweight	4.1	9.5	12.4	9.8	14.6
Perception relative to weight status						<0.001
Perception concordant with status	70.9	63.0	66.6	53.6	75.7
Feels overweight, but is not	23.9	29.9	11.9	34.8	20.0
Feels healthy weight/underweight, but is not	5.2	7.1	21.5	11.6	4.2
Current attempts to change weight						<0.001
Trying to lose weight	61.1	58.3	44.7	69.8	61.6
Trying to gain weight	5.3	13.2	11.9	7.9	5.3
Trying to stay the same weight	18.9	11.9	14.0	12.1	19.5
Not trying to control weight	14.7	16.6	29.4	10.1	13.7
Weight behaviors in last 30 days
Fasted > 24 hours	13.4	23.8	27.8	26.2	14.8	<0.001
Used weight loss pills/products	5.8	8.4	14.9	15.8	6.7	<0.001
Vomited or used laxatives	6.4	7.9	14.7	17.8	11.1	<0.001

All frequencies are weighted.

According to age/gender percentiles published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [26], and classified according to American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines [27]