Body Mass Index, Self Weight Perception and the Intention of Changing the Weight in Teens of 11-18 Years

The research intends to investigate the body mass index, the self-weight perception and the intention of changing the weight in teenagers, from Timisoara, Romania. The data sample was made of 243 students of 11-18 years old: 37.9% in middle school and 62.1% in high school; 56.4% girls and 43.6% boys. The manner of work was a cross-sectional study, study case type. The results show that in middle/high school there are: underweight 39.8%/22.9%, normal weight 51.1% and overweight and obese, 9.1%/8.3, with a significant difference between the 2 age groups, the difference being very small. 62.2% of middle school students and 51.7% of the ones in high school appreciate their own weight as having the normal value. 24.4% of the middle school students and 32.4% of high school students consider that that they have a weight over the normal value, and at 15-18 years old, girls perceive weight as being significantly higher than boys. The students want to lose weight, 42.7% of middle school students and 42.8% of high school students. At 11-14 years old, boys want to gain weight more frequently than girls.