Development and Validation of the Body Size Scale for Assessing Body Weight Perception in African Populations.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The social valorisation of overweight in African populations could promote high-risk eating behaviours and therefore become a risk factor of obesity. However, existing scales to assess body image are usually not accurate enough to allow comparative studies of body weight perception in different African populations. This study aimed to develop and validate the Body Size Scale (BSS) to estimate African body weight perception.

Methods

Anthropometric measures of 80 Cameroonians and 81 Senegalese were used to evaluate three criteria of adiposity: body mass index (BMI), overall percentage of fat, and endomorphy (fat component of the somatotype). To develop the BSS, the participants were photographed in full face and profile positions. Models were selected for their repr

SUBMITTER: Cohen E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4633130 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature