The use of a 3D Avatar to determine the association between actual and perceived body mass index

Introduction: Literature surrounding body image, body composition and Body Mass Index (BMI) have shown that when participant use visual impressions, they can often lead to a false sense of weight status. Therefore, the main objectives of this investigation was to determine participants BMI and to establish the correlation between actual and perceived BMI. Method: n = 32 female participants ( ± s; body mass = 70.1 ± 13.6 kg, stretched stature = 172.4 ± 8.1 cm) were recruited. A computer generated (Unity Player) 3D Avatar rotated 3600 and permitted a visual slide from an underweight to average to obese continuum. Stretched stature (m) and body mass (kg) was taken and values used to calculate BMI (kg/m2). P value was set at (P<0.001) and a Paired t-Test was used to test for the difference and Pearson's Correlation Coefficient was used to test for the strength of the association between the actual and perceived BMI. Results: Perceived BMI ranged from 16.5 – 32.5 ( 23.5± 4.1), whereas the actual BMI ranged from 17.7 – 31.3 ( 24.3± 3.7). A Paired t-test and Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient found values ranged from -5.3 and 8.6 ( - 0.2± 2.5) and a value of t = 0.81 and r = 0.68 suggesting a significant difference between actual and perceived BMI (P < 0.001). Discussion: This investigation reports that perceived BMI was higher than the participants actual BMI and that the use of visual impressions led to a false sense of weight status. Recommendations: Further research is necessary to investigate the reasons behind these perceived versus actual differences and the creation of a 3D Avatar for male participants and younger populations would be beneficial