Perception of weight and BMI among high school athletes

Abstract

Athletes tend to have greater muscle mass than non-athletes and muscle mass is more dense than fat, hence there is a bias in BMI with athletes having a higher BMI compared to similarly sized non-athletes. A measurement called percentile of body mass index (BMI) is used to identify overweight and obesity in study subjects. NCHS/CDC -2000 growth charts for children and adolescents aged 2–20 years. 72.7% of study subjects perceived themselves as of normal weight for their age and height, 16.8% perceived as of underweight and 10.5% perceived as of overweight/obese.