Perception of Health Status and Body Mass Index (BMI) among Residents of a Housing Estate in Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: Self perception of health could influence health seeking behaviour and general health outcomes. This paper explored BMI and self rated health status in a Nigerian population using a cross sectional study conducted in Benin City, Nigeria.
Methods: It involved a total of three hundred and fifty four adults aged between 18 and 71years (mean age=30.05 ± 13.12 years) drawn from a housing estate. Data was collected using a self administered questionnaire containing both closed and open ended questions.
Results: Our results show that self perception of health status does not accurately reflect objective measures of health status such as BMI.  Underweight, overweight and obese individuals failed to perceive the health implications of their BMI states and erroneously perceived themselves as healthy.
Conclusion: There is the need for mass enlightenment on the health implications of the different health conditions associated with the identified categories of body mass index as well as ample sensitization on appropriate appraisal of health status.

Keywords: Body mass index, self-perception, health status, Nigeria