![Weight Perception\* Among Children and Adolescents Aged 8--15 Years, by Sex and Body Mass Index (BMI) Category^†^ --- National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), United States, 2005--2012\
\* Based on responses to the question, "Do you consider yourself now to be: fat or overweight, too thin, or about the right weight?"\
^†^ Overweight is defined in children and adolescents as an age-specific and sex-specific BMI ≥85th and \<95th percentile of the 2000 CDC growth chart; obese is defined in children and adolescents as an age-specific and sex-specific body mass index ≥95th percentile of the 2000 CDC growth chart.\
^§^ 95% confidence interval](762f1){#f1-762}

Overweight children and adolescents aged 8--15 years were more likely to report that their weight was "about right" than report that they were "overweight," according to NHANES data for the period 2005--2012. Among overweight females, 71.4% considered their weight "about right," and 27.7% thought they were "overweight." Among overweight males, 80.9% considered their weight "about right," and 18.5% thought they were "overweight." Among obese children and adolescents, 63.6% of females thought they were "overweight," and 35.6% considered their weight "about right"; the percentages of obese males who thought they were "overweight" (51.0%) was roughly equal to the percentage who considered their weight "about right" (47.6%).

**Source:** Sarafrazi N, Hughes JP, Borrud L, Burt V, Paulose-Ram R. Perception of weight status in U.S. children and adolescents aged 8--15 years, 2005--2012. NCHS data brief no. 158. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2014. Available at <http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db158.pdf>.

**Reported by:** Neda Sarafrazi, PhD, <vng1@cdc.gov>, 301-458-4684; Steven M. Frenk, PhD.
