Prevalence and determinants of weight misperception among adult females in Basrah city

Background : Background: Body weight and its perception are important aspects of health and constitute a significant role in physical and mental well-being. Aims: To estimate the prevalence of body weight misperception among adult females in Basrah city and to show the main determinants that affect their weights , perception. Materials and Methods: This is a cross–sectional study conducted during the period from the 2nd of January to the 1st of December 2020 on a sample of adult females who attended primary health care centers in the city center of Basrah Governorate/South of Iraq, 400 adults agreed to participate and completed the interview. The researchers designed and used an interview questionnaire, all females who included in the study were interviewed, their weights and heights were measured. Results: The study showed that about half of the studied females 211(52.7%) misperceived their body weights. The association between body weight misperception and age was highly significant (p=0.001), there is no significant association with the other studied characteristics. Conclusions : The study showed that approximately half of the studied females misperceived their body weights. Females tend to perceive their weights accurately as their ages increase. Highest percents of weight misconception are for obese females who misperceived themselves as overweight and then for underweight ones who misperceived their weights as normal. Recommendations: Comprehensive intervention programs for women could be devised to raise self-awareness of their weight status, to overcome weight misperception, and to prevent obesity and its related health risks