Height, weight and body mass index
distribution data for Queensland
schoolchildren aged ten to 18 years
Angela Vivanti and Jeanie Sheffield
Abstract
Objective: To compare measured and perceived height and
weight in a sample of Queensland primary and high school stu-
dents, calculate their body mass indexes (BMIs), and compare
these with age- and sex-specific BMI percentiles developed by
the Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Rec-
reation (ACHPER).
Setting: The study was conducted in both public and private
primary and high schools in the West Moreton region in
Queensland.
Design: A cross-sectional survey of a sample of children
(n = 1822) in grades 6 to 12 (age ten to 18 years) attending a
compulsory or core curriculum class, in one of the selected
schools on the day of the survey.
Methods: Students completed a range of standardised ques-
tions on measures of body image and eating attitudes as part of
the health survey. Students’ heights and weights were measured
(n = 1683) by the trained interviewers.
Main outcome measures: BMI percentiles calculated from both
self-reported and measured heights and weights.
Statistics: Chi-squared analyses were used to compare the sam-
ple group with the Australian census data, the demographic
characteristics of those who were measured and those who were
not measured, and the differences between the current data and
the ACHPER percentile data. Correlations between reported and
measured heights and weights were calculated, and ANOVA was
used to assess significant differences between mean BMI values
for males and females and for menarche-related differences.
Results: Distribution occurred across all ACHPER percentile
ranges, although a greater proportion of students was clustered at
each extreme end of the distribution than would be expected.
However, only two age groups (14-year-old males and 12-year-
old females) were found to be significantly different to the
ACHPER data (P < 0.001). Children tended to overestimate
their height and underestimate their weight. The majority
thought that their weight was right for their height although a
quarter of males and one-third of females disagreed. Compared
with males, females significantly under-reported weight
(P < 0.006) and consequently BMI (P < 0.002).
Conclusion: The percentage of schoolchildren with a BMI, cal-
culated from accurate measurements, greater than the 95th
percentile exceeded the number in the ACHPER study of a dec-
ade earlier in the 12-year-old female and 14-year-old male
groups.
(Aust J Nutr Diet 2001;58:121–127)
Key words: body mass index, children, adolescents, overweight,
anthropometry
Introduction
Over recent times overweight and obesity status have
been identified as major public health issues due to their
association with increased risk of morbidity for certain
diseases. It is reported that the prevalence of adult over-
weight and obesity in Australia is high (1). Recent
research also suggests that the prevalence of overweight
and obesity has been increasing and is continuing to
increase (2). There is no consensus on the definition of
overweight (3). The exact prevalence of overweight
amongst children and adolescents is unclear. Although it
is often cited that 30% of Australian schoolchildren are
overweight (4,5), this estimate seems to be based on only
two small studies in New South Wales that may not be
representative of the general Australian population. This
figure seems high when compared to neighbouring New
Zealand, a country with a similar cultural mix, where
research has reported 9% of female and 4% of male chil-
dren were overweight (6).
Attempts have been made to obtain anthropometric
data on Australian children. For example, the Australian
Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation
(ACHPER) measured weights and heights of a sample of
school-aged children across the nation in 1985 (3). The
results were published to make available comprehensive
descriptive data on body mass index [BMI, weight (kg)/
height (m)2] (7). A paper published more recently reported
anthropometric data for 480 adolescent students in a rural
community in Queensland (3).
The present study sought to add to the database on
Australian children by collecting anthropometric data
from a large sample of primary and high school students
in Queensland. Relationships between self-reported
heights and weights and measured heights and weights
were investigated and perceptions of suitability of weight
were determined. This study also compared the BMIs of
the students with the age- and sex-specific BMI percentile
ranges reported for the ACHPER data in order to deter-
mine whether the sample was consistent with the larger
Australian sample.
Methods
Participants
A study of body image and eating attitudes was conducted
with 1822 young people from school grades six to 12 (age
ten to 18 years respectively). Surveys were completed by
This study was completed as part of a body image needs assessment of
the West Moreton Regional Health Authority with funds from the
Queensland Health Promotion Council.
Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland
A. Vivanti, BSc, GradDipNutrDiet, MApplSc, Research and
Development Dietitian
School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane
J. Sheffield, BA Hons, PhD(Clin), Postdoctoral Fellow
Correspondence: A. Vivanti, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Ipswich
Road, Woolloongabba, Qld 4102
Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics (2001) 58:2 121
Height, weight and BMI of schoolchildren
male and female students from all state and private high
schools (n = 16) and a random sample of primary schools
(25% of total, n = 27) in the West Moreton region in
Queensland. The West Moreton region includes the major
provincial city of Ipswich, located approximately 40 km
west of Brisbane central business district, and its sur-
rounding rural regions.
Participants were selected from rural and urban, pri-
mary and secondary, public and private, coeducational and
single sex schools. The schools drew from a wide range of
ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Students attending
compulsory or core classes across all grades from six to 12
were selected to ensure representative sampling. Within
those classes, all students present on the day completed
the questionnaires within class time. Although participa-
tion was voluntary, no student present declined to
participate in the questionnaire component, although some
did refuse to have height or weight measured.
Ethics approval was obtained from the state education
department and the regional health authority. Participation
was voluntary and individual school principals obtained
consent from staff and participants to be involved.
Questionnaires
Self-reported heights and weights were collected as part
of a standardised questionnaire package that included val-
idated measures related to eating behaviours and body
satisfaction as part of a health survey. Standardised audio-
taped instructions were used with all students. Trained
interviewers measured and recorded actual heights and
weights after the students had completed the survey.
Students’ own and parental countries of birth were
classified using Australian Bureau of Statistics groupings.
The Australian standard classification of occupations (8)
was used to classify parental occupation.
Measurements
A standard approach was used to take measurements of
anthropometric data after completion of the questionnaire.
Height was measured to the nearest 0.5 cm using a porta-
ble height measure (Ke Wa, Stanley, France).
Measurements were taken without shoes, with feet
together, heels against the wall with the top of ear and
outer corner of the eye parallel to the floor (Frankfort
plane). Weight was measured in light clothing without
shoes to the nearest 0.1 kg using electronic digital scales
(Tanita Corporation 1567, Tokyo). These scales are accu-
rate to 0.2 kg for weights between 0 and 100 kg. Scales
were regularly calibrated throughout the survey to ensure
accuracy of data collection.
BMI was calculated for each student who had meas-
ured height and weight data. Students’ dates of birth were
recorded and their age at the time of measurement was
determined.
Statistical analyses
Analyses were performed using SPSS (SPSS for Windows,
version 9.0, 1999, SPSS Inc, Chicago, IL). Comparisons of
the sample group demographics with the West Moreton
population and the Australian population were completed
using χ2 analyses. Differences between students who were
measured and those who were not were examined using
122 Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics (2001) 58:2
ANOVA and χ2 analyses on demographic and other
weight-related variables. The variables investigated
included age, gender, country of birth, parental country of
birth, parental occupation, living situation, birth order,
whether or not they thought their weight was right for their
height, whether or not they had ever dieted, and whether or
not they were currently on a diet. The BMI percentile distri-
butions of the ACHPER data reported by Harvey and
Althaus (7) were used to calculate percentages of the sample
occurring in each percentile category. Chi-squared analyses
compared the number of the current sample found at each
ACHPER percentile category with that expected to be
found using the ACHPER data.
The relationships between self-reported and measured
heights and weights and the respective calculated BMIs
were assessed for the total sample, total sample of males
only, total sample of females only, and for each age cate-
gory by gender. Mean differences between measured and
reported values were also calculated. ANOVA was used to
assess whether there were differences in mean BMI
between the genders, and between females who had com-
menced menarche and those who had not.
Results
Demographic and descriptive data
The sample included in BMI analyses comprised 889
male and 794 female respondents. Males ranged in age
from ten to 18 years (mean = 13.7, sd = 2.0) and females
ranged in age from ten to 18 (mean = 13.6, sd = 2.0). The
majority of students (91.2%) were born in Australia.
Overseas-born students came from New Zealand (2.1%),
United Kingdom and Ireland (2.0%), Asia (1.9%), other
European countries (0.7%), Papua New Guinea (0.4%),
Oceania, Canada and USA, South and Central America
(0.3% each). Approximately 23% of parents were born
overseas. Again the majority originated from the United
Kingdom and Ireland (8.3%), South and Central America
(3.8%), Asia (3.3%), Europe (2.9%), New Zealand
(2.2%), with Oceania, Papua New Guinea, and Canada
and USA representing the remaining 2%.
Only those students aged ten to 15 years were included
in the comparisons with the ACHPER percentiles. How-
ever, BMI data for 16- and 17-year-old students are
included for information. The number of 18-year-olds was
small (n = 17) and data are not presented. Within the total
sample, 78 boys (8.1%) and 61 girls (7.1%) declined or
were unavailable to have their height or weight recorded
and were thus excluded from BMI analyses. Examination
of differences by gender between those who were meas-
ured and those who were not measured revealed that there
were no significant differences in parental occupations,
living arrangements, or current dieting status for either
gender. However, children of both genders who were not
measured were older, reported greater heights and
weights, and were less likely to report their weight was
correct for their height than those who were measured.
Further, more males who were not measured were born
overseas (New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Oceania)
and more females who were not measured reported having
been on a diet to lose weight than did those who were
measured.

Comparison with Australian Bureau of Statistics popu-
lation data (10) showed that the sample group was
representative of both the West Moreton population and
the general Australian population in terms of participants’
gender, country of birth, fathers’ and mothers’ countries
of birth, parental employment, attendance at private or
public schools, and gender-specific age groupings.
Data on the students’ self-reported and measured
heights and weights are shown in Table 1. Some students
who were measured did not report their own heights and
weights. Furthermore, more students (both males and
females) were able to report their weight than their height.
Examination of group means for self-reported and meas-
ured heights and weights showed that students generally
tended to overestimate their height and underestimate
their weight. Crude means of actual versus self-reported
height and weight indicated 11- to 17-year-old females
overestimated height by 0.26 cm (mean difference 0.21,
sd 6.67) and underestimated weight by 2.42 kg (mean dif-
ference 2.10, sd 4.94). Crude means of actual versus self-
reported height and weight indicated 11- to 17-year-old
males overestimated height by 1.11 cm (mean difference
0.33, sd 7.51) and underestimated weight by 0.50 kg
(mean difference 1.01, sd 5.22). ANOVA showed that
females significantly under-reported weight, (P < 0.006),
and consequently BMI (P < 0.002), compared with males.
Students were asked ‘Do you think that your weight is
right for your height?’ Of those students who reported
both their height and weight, 68.3% of males and 55.3%
of females stated that their weight was correct for their
height (Table 1). Gender comparisons showed that signifi-
cantly more males than females perceived their weight as
correct for their height (P < 0.000). However, almost one-
quarter of the males and over one-third of the females
responded in the negative. A total of 17% of male and
female students with a BMI less than 20 reported that their
weight was not correct for their height. For students with a
BMI between 20 and 25, 24% of males and 40% of
females reported that their weight was not correct for their
height. For students with a BMI greater than 25, 63% of
males and 79% of females reported their weight was not
correct for height. Although interpretation with caution is
required, BMI can be a reasonable test of adiposity in
children (11) being associated with total body fat (12) and
was used to assess gender differences. Chi-square analy-
ses showed significant gender differences for those with
BMI 20 to 25, (P < 0.000) and also over 25, (P < 0.008).
For both BMI groups, significantly fewer females per-
ceived their weight to be correct for their height.
Correlations between reported and measured heights
and weights were calculated for each age and gender.
Table 2 shows that reported and measured weights in gen-
eral correlated more strongly than heights. Male and
female students aged 11 and 12 years were least accurate
at estimating their heights. Overall, correlations were
moderate to high and all relationships were significant
(P < 0.01).
ACHPER data were used as a reference point against
which to report BMIs for the current sample. The percent-
age of the current sample falling at each percentile
reported by ACHPER was calculated. Table 3 shows the
percentage of the current sample in each ACHPER per-
centile band. Table 4 presents the same information for
females. Chi-squared analyses of the sample with
Height, weight and BMI of schoolchildren
ACHPER data showed statistically significant differences
for males and females of all ages. The greatest differences
appear to occur above the 95th percentile with the current
sample having higher numbers of children at this percen-
tile range and lower than expected numbers between the
50th and 95th percentiles.
BMIs ranged from 11.7 to 42.4. Given that the
ACHPER data are available only for ages ten to 15 years,
BMIs for the 16- and 17-year-old students in the present
study were compared with adult BMI ranges. The overall
means for the 16- and 17-year-old age groups were well
within the healthy adult BMI range of 20 to 25. However,
of this group 16.0% of males and 23.7% of females had a
BMI greater than 25. Mean BMIs increased with age for
both males and females. The mean BMI for females as a
group was higher than the mean for the males (P < 0.004).
A total of 59.4% of females had commenced menarche
according to self-reports. Females who had commenced
menarche had higher BMIs than those females of the same
age who had not commenced (P < 0.000). Significantly
more females who had not commenced menarche
believed that their weight was correct for their height
compared with those who had commenced (P < 0.000).
For both males and females across all ages in the
present study, there was a greater percentage than
expected who were above the 95th percentile. However,
with the exception of 14-year-old males (P <0.001) and
12-year-old females (P <0.001), these differences were
not statistically significant when compared with the
expected percentage based on ACHPER data.
Discussion
Body mass index
One of the aims of this study was to compare our findings
with other BMI-related data on Australian children. The
data were not intended as a means of classifying children
as underweight or overweight as BMI was not originally
designed for use in people under 18 years of age. The use
of BMI in children is not widely accepted in Australia but
it is widely used for the classification of overweight and
obesity in adults (13,14). However, recent research sug-
gests that BMI can be used as a fatness measure in groups
of children and adolescents, although it should be inter-
preted cautiously when comparing across different age
groups (12) and should not be used to classify
individuals (9). Information about BMI of children allows
for comparisons to be made (8) as well as adding to
anthropometric data on Australian children. The present
publication of age- and gender-specific percentile ranges
for BMI of Australian children (classified using ACHPER
percentiles) attempts to provide reference data to facilitate
comparisons between groups of children.
Estimates of overweight are only possible if standard
measurement criteria are used. The 85th, 90th and 95th
percentiles have all been raised as potential ‘cut-offs’, but
there is no consensus or standard approach to classifying
overweight in children (15–17). Although there have been
several attempts to assess weight distribution in children,
there appears to be some variation in findings of earlier
studies (3,11,18). Potential reasons for the variations may
include geographical location, ethnicity, physical activity,
Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics (2001) 58:2 123
Height, weight and BMI of schoolchildren

Table 1. Reported and measured heights and weights, calculated body mass index [BMI, weight (kg) / height (m)2]
(mean ± sd) and perceptions of whether or not weight was correct for height by age and gender
Age in years
11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Males(a) (n = 183) (n = 221) (n = 110) (n = 105) (n = 90) (n = 79) (n = 66)

Height reported (cm) 147.7 ± 9.4 154.7 ± 12.1 158.7 ± 11.4 165.6 ± 10.7 173.5 ± 9.2 178.1 ± 10.0 177.6 ± 8.5
Height measured (cm) 146.8 ± 9.2 153.4 ± 9.1 160.0 ± 8.1 167.2 ± 9.4 173.1 ± 7.8 176.0 ± 8.2 176.2 ± 8.0
Weight reported (kg) 39.6 ± 8.7 45.2 ± 12.2 49.5 ± 10.1 57.0 ± 13.5 65.7 ± 14.2 68 ± 11.6 69.6 ± 11.8
Weight measured (kg) 41.2 ± 9.4 46.0 ± 11.9 50.7 ± 11.5 59.7 ± 14.5 65.4 ± 14.2 68.1 ± 12.1 70.1 ± 11.4
BMI measured 19.0 ± 3.4 19.4 ± 3.9 19.6 ± 3.5 21.2 ± 3.9 21.7 ± 3.9 22.0 ± 3.8 22.6 ± 3.5
Weight correct for height 76.9 69.8 65.9 73.3 60.2 59.4 58.7
(%)
Weight not correct for 17.9 25.2 26.4 18.9 27.7 31.9 31.7
height (%)
Females(a) (n = 183) (n = 188) (n = 101) (n = 92) (n = 78) (n = 76) (n = 53)
Height reported (cm) 149.2 ± 11.0 154.4 ± 10.2 161.0 ± 9.2 162.4 ± 9.1 164.3 ± 8.0 166.7 ± 6.6 166.4 ± 7.0
Height measured (cm) 149.3 ± 7.9 155.7 ± 7.2 160.0 ± 6.8 162.5 ± 6.5 164.0 ± 6.0 164.1 ± 6.5 163.8 ± 5.6
Weight reported (kg) 40.4 ± 9.1 45.1 ± 9.7 50.2 ± 9.4 54.75 ± 9.5 58.9 ± 11.7 63.1 ± 14.5 64.0 ± 15.2
Weight measured (kg) 43.3 ± 10.2 48.5 ± 11.2 53.5 ± 10.8 56.9 ± 11.2 60.0 ± 12.5 61.4 ± 14.2 64.9 ± 14.6
BMI measured 19.3 ± 3.6 19.9 ± 3.9 20.8 ± 3.7 21.4 ± 3.6 22.3 ± 3.9 22.8 ± 5.3 24.2 ± 5.0
Weight correct for height 68.6 59.1 46.3 50.0 41.8 53.2 43.8
(%)
Weight not correct for 25.6 29.3 36.3 32.1 49.3 37.1 39.6
height (%)
(a) n indicates students with measured heights and weights.

Table 2. Correlations (r) and mean differences ± sd between participants’ measured and reported heights (cm), weights (kg)
and body mass index [BMI, weight (kg) / height (m)2] by age and gender(a)
Age in years
11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Males(b) (n = 183) (n = 221) (n = 110) (n = 105) (n = 90) (n = 79) (n = 66)

Measured and reported height
Correlation 0.64** 0.57** 0.83** 0.86** 0.76** 0.85** 0.93**
Mean difference 0.56 ± 7.64 –1.51 ± 10.13 1.60 ± 6.28 0.36 ± 5.54 0.16 ± 5.97 –0.64 ± 5.30 –1.46 ± 3.09
Measured and reported weight
Correlation 0.87** 0.85** 0.94** 0.91** 0.95** 0.92** 0.98**
Mean difference 0.92 ± 4.55 0.86 ± 6.51 2.36 ± 3.66 2.91 ± 6.30 0.66 ± 4.80 –0.03 ± 4.48 –0.14 ± 2.28
Measured and reported BMI
Correlation 0.52** 0.58** 0.85** 0.84** 0.86** 0.82** 0.94**
Mean difference 0.20 ± 3.15 0.58 ± 4.11 0.35 ± 1.84 0.89 ± 2.59 0.31 ± 2.23 0.02 ± 2.22 0.32 ± 1.21
Females(b) (n = 183) (n = 188) (n = 101) (n = 92) (n = 78) (n = 76) (n = 53)
Measured and reported height
Correlation 0.63** 0.66** 0.80** 0.78** 0.83** 0.90** 0.89**
Mean difference 1.26 ± 8.57 1.44 ± 7.64 0.13 ± 5.51 0.24 ± 5.68 –0.31 ± 4.43 –2.02 ± 2.94 –2.56 ± 3.26
Measured and reported weight
Correlation 0.93** 0.91** 0.92** 0.92** 0.80** 0.86** 0.96**
Mean difference 2.54 ± 3.28 2.65 ± 4.35 2.38 ± 3.92 2.20 ± 4.46 0.86 ± 7.37 0.10 ± 7.93 2.30 ± 4.29
Measured and reported BMI
Correlation 0.64** 0.64** 0.83** 0.77** 0.93** 0.82** 0.94**
Mean difference 0.73 ± 3.00 0.66 ± 2.82 0.90 ± 1.94 0.66 ± 2.57 0.84 ± 1.77 0.63 ± 3.56 1.56 ± 1.83
** P < 0.01 (two-tailed).
(a) Positive values for mean differences between measured and reported height, weight, and BMI indicate that measured are larger than those self-
reported.
(b) n indicates students with measured heights and weights.

124 Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics (2001) 58:2

 Height, weight and BMI of schoolchildren

food availability, affordability and habits and other fac-
tors. Ethnicity has been found to have an impact on
BMI (17,18). There is good convergence between the eth-
nic composition of the current study, the ACHPER
study (3) and the Harvey and Althaus study (9). For exam-
ple, 92% of the ACHPER sample and 91.2% of the
current sample were born in Australia. Similarly, 97% of
the Harvey and Althaus sample compared with 96.4% of
the current sample being of Caucasian origin.
BMI data for about 7% of the total sample had to be
excluded because students declined or were unavailable to
have their height and weight measured. Although those
who were not measured were older, had greater self-
reported height, and were less likely to state their weight
was correct for their height, they were no different in
terms of a range of demographic and social variables
(gender, parental occupation, country of birth, living situ-
ation and attendance at state or private high school).
Given this pattern of similarities, the differences in stu-
dents who were not measured do not appear to introduce a
severe selection bias.
The present study confirmed that the relationship
between weight and height-squared varies with age, as
BMI clearly increased with age in the current study and
others (3,9).
Females had higher mean BMIs than males. Female
range maximums were larger than for males and are con-
sistent with patterns of weight and BMI distributions
reported by Harvey, Bruggemann and Althaus (3). Post-
menarcheal females have been shown to have higher
BMIs and were more likely to consider themselves to be
overweight (18). Given that 59.4% of female respondents
had commenced menarche, this is one explanation for the
gender differences evident in the present study.
It has been more than ten years since the original
ACHPER data were collected. The present study data
showed a full spread of distribution across all ACHPER
percentile ranges. Consistent with recent Australian
research, the current study showed more of the children in
this sample were clustered at the extreme end of the distri-
bution than would be expected (3). Consequently, there
were fewer children between the 50th and 95th percentiles
compared with the ACHPER data. These differences were
significant for all age groups across both genders. This
apparent increase is consistent with recent data reported
for a rural Australian sample that showed greater than

Table 3. Comparison of body mass index [BMI, weight (kg) / height (m)2] with Australian Council for Health, Physical
Education and Recreation percentiles (7) for males. Values are cumulative percentage of sample in each percentile
category
Percentage of sample (completed data) in each accumulative percentile category
5 10 15 25 50 75 85 90 95(a) >95(a)
Age (years) n (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
10–15 733 6.3 ± 1.2 11.5 ± 2.8 15.3 ± 3.6 24.2 ± 5.4 45.7 ± 4.8 65.5 ± 5.3 73.8 ± 4.7 78.5 ± 4.7 87.1 ± 3.3 12.9 ± 3.3
(mean ± sd)
10 24 8.3 16.6 16.6 20.8 54.2 75.0 79.2 83.3 83.3 16.7
11 183*** 4.9 9.3 14.8 25.7 43.2 66.1 69.9 76.0 85.8 14.2
12 221** 6.3 11.8 14.9 28.1 45.7 65.6 74.7 81.9 91.4 8.6
13 110* 7.3 12.7 21.8 30.9 48.2 67.3 80.0 83.6 91.8 8.2
14 105*** 4.8 7.6 9.5 14.3 40.9 61.9 72.4 75.2 84.8 15.2
15 90*** 6.6 11.1 14.4 25.6 42.2 57.6 66.7 71.1 85.6 14.4
* P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001, χ2 analysis comparing number of current sample found at each ACHPER percentile category with
that expected to be found.
(a) The percentage of students classified above the 95th percentile.

Table 4. Comparison of body mass index [BMI, weight (kg) / height (m)2] with Australian Council for Health, Physical
Education and Recreation percentiles (7) for females. Values are cumulative percentage of sample in each percentile
category
Percentage of sample (completed data) in each accumulative percentile category
5 10 15 25 50 75 85 90 95(a) >95(a)
Age (years) n (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
10–15 659 5.6 ± 2.4 9.6 ± 2.7 13.2 ± 2.4 20.5 ± 2.0 43.0 ± 2.2 61.8 ± 2.9 69.8 ± 2.7 77.9 ± 2.5 86.8 ± 1.1 13.4 ± 1.1
(mean ± sd)
10 17 5.9 11.8 11.8 17.7 41.2 64.7 64.7 76.5 88.2 11.8
11 183*** 3.3 6.0 9.8 18.0 43.2 63.8 71.6 81.4 87.4 12.7
12 188*** 9.6 13.3 15.9 21.8 40.4 58.0 68.6 75.0 84.6 15.4
13 101*** 5.9 8.9 11.9 21.8 43.6 62.4 70.3 80.2 86.1 13.9
14 92*** 2.2 6.5 13.0 20.7 42.4 64.1 70.7 75.0 87.0 13.0
15 78** 6.4 11.5 16.7 23.1 47.4 57.7 73.1 79.5 87.2 13.8
* P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001, χ2 analysis comparing the number of current sample found at each ACHPER percentile category with
that expected to be found.
(a) The percentage of students classified above the 95th percentile.

Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics (2001) 58:2 125

Height, weight and BMI of schoolchildren
expected numbers of children were classified as
overweight (3). Although these findings may reflect a
change in the physical profile of specific student popula-
tions in Australia, the significance with respect to both
adiposity and public health implications needs to be care-
fully interpreted. Furthermore, the number of overweight
schoolchildren appears to be lower than the estimate of
30% frequently cited (4,5).
Correlations between self-reported and measured
heights and weights
More students were able to report their weight in compar-
ison to their height. Furthermore, there was a better
correlation between self-reported and measured weights
in comparison to self-reported and measured heights. This
may reflect that growing students find it more difficult to
estimate their height. Alternatively, it may indicate easier
access to weighing equipment or a greater emphasis on
weight.
In general, students were accurate in estimating their
weights (r = 0.95 with measured weight) as has been
found in many other studies (19–21). Correlations of 0.97
were found for a group of 238 girls (19), 0.98 for a group
of 151 girls aged 11 to 13 years (20), and 0.97 for a sample
of girls and boys in grades five to eight (11 to 14 years of
age) (21). Consistent with the findings of Brooks-Gunn et
al. (20), Stewart (22) and Tienboon et al. (23), girls in the
present study tended to under-report weight and over-
report height. Although still highly significant, 15-year-
old females displayed the poorest correlation between
measured and reported weight. This could indicate social
pressures to strive for or report lower body weights (18).
Children aged 11 and 12 years were least accurate at
estimating height. This may be due to reduced awareness
of height or inability to keep up with their growth. How-
ever, their ability to estimate weight was high and this
may reflect a broad socio-cultural preoccupation with
weight and size.
As reported elsewhere (18), fewer females than males
in this study thought that their weight was correct for their
height (54.2% and 67.6% respectively). This is consistent
with a considerable amount of research that shows body
dissatisfaction is extremely common amongst girls and
women (24), to the point where body dissatisfaction
among women has been described as ‘normative discon-
tent’ by some authors (25). Acceptable or desirable weight
can be affected by ethnicity (18), although this was not
investigated in the current study given the high proportion
of participants born in Australia or of a Caucasian
background.
In summary, this study was designed to provide
anthropometric information on a large sample of students
and to compare this information with the nationally repre-
sentative dataset provided by the ACHPER survey. There
is as yet no common consensus on a system of classifying
overweight in Australian children and adolescents, due, in
part, to the considerable variation in weight, height, and
BMI among children and adolescents (3). However, set-
ting BMI cut-off points that classify overweight is
pertinent for determining prevalence within a population
group (3,12). Thus, age- and gender-specific information
about height, weight and BMI of young people is valuable
to add to the current knowledge base and to determina-
126 Australian Journal of Nutrition and Dietetics (2001) 58:2
tions of overweight in the population. Although
overweight among children is a public health issue (26),
initiatives to impact upon excess weight should acknowl-
edge early and strongly held gender-based differences in
body shape aspiration so as to avoid promoting an
unhealthy preoccupation with weight and pursuit for thin-
ness by both females and males (19,27).
Acknowledgments
Margot Eyeson-Annan for her assistance with some aspects of
the analysis.
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