Americans Telling Tall Tales About Their Height - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Nov, 2000

A study by researchers at the Saint Louis (Mo.) University School of Allied Health Professions reveals that many individuals are lying about their height, claiming to be taller. Adding this information to the already documented fibs on weight is leading experts to wonder if Americans are more obese than previously suspected and reported.

William D. Hart, professor of nutrition and dietetics, indicates that people in every age category, male and female, claimed to be taller than their actual height. All of the data was collected using "self-reporting" measures. That is, a researcher would call and ask a person to report his or her height and weight. These figures were then compiled into a large data set to gauge Americans' rate of obesity.

The overreporting of height, as well as underreporting of weight, was confirmed by researchers who compared the self-reported figures to a different data collection method called the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, wherein subjects were weighed on a scale and measured with a ruler.

The significance of the findings is most relevant for researchers trying to evaluate nutritional and health risks of large-scale assessments in groups of people. Researchers rely on self-reported figures because they are easier to gather, less labor-intensive, and less costly. Hart suggests that they should be a little more cautious when it comes to their interpretation of obesity and other risk factors based on height and weight.

The propensity to add a little height and take away a little weight was evident regardless of sex and/ or age. "Every age category, from the 20-to-24 group to the 80-to-84. group, was claiming to be taller than they actually were to some extent," he notes.

Hart believes that one of the reasons people overstate their height may be the tradition in Western culture that height is a good thing. Taller people may be thought of as being stronger and more fit. "Some studies have actually suggested that taller males get the girl more often. I think people are stating their height as they would like it to be. It is their ideal, even if it isn't necessarily so."