Objective:

To evaluate the perception of body weight in adolescents and identify predictors of nutritional status.

Method:

Descriptive, correlational design. The population was made up of students from a randomly selected public educational institution located in Northwest Mexico. The sample was from 851 teenagers who attended between the 7th and 9th grade of basic education enrolled in the selected educational institution. Satisfaction with body weight was evaluated using the Stunkard and S0rensen figures. Anthropometric measurements (weight and height) were carried out and BMI was calculated.

Results:

18.8 % and 19.1 % of the participants reported being overweight and obese respectively, 21.6 % belonged to the male sex. In relation to the perception of body weight, 67.5 % reported body dissatisfaction, 45.2 % wished to be slimmer, with a predominance of the female sex. Age (ß = .29, p = .020), sex (ß = -.642, p = .005) and body weight perception (ß = -2.62, p = .001) influence the BMI of the adolescents in the study.

Conclusions:

Age, sex and body weight perception are predictors of nutritional status in the adolescents in the study.

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