Patient Body Mass Index (BMI) Knowledge in a Rural Primary Care Population

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Demographic Characteristics of Body Mass Index Survey Patients

Characteristic	2013 Survey (n = 345)	2017 Survey (n = 228)	P Value^*
Age (mean ± standard deviation, years)	49.6 ± 16.7	49.0 ± 18.0	0.79
Sex (%)			0.003
Male	43.0	30.7
Female	57.0	69.3
Calculated BMI based on self-reported height and weight (mean ± standard deviation)	29.0± 7.1	30.4 ± 7.3	0.04
Weight status based on BMI calculated from self-reported height and weight (%)			0.09
Under weight (<18.5)	2.3	0
Normal weight (18.5 to 24.9)	27.0	24.0
Over weight (25 to 29.9)	31.3	31.7
Obese (≥30)	39.4	44.3
Presence of self-reported comorbid conditions (%)
Hypertension	41.4	43.0	0.70
Hyperlipidemia	34.2	30.3	0.32
Diabetes mellitus	14.5	19.3	0.13
Sleep apnea	9.9	12.7	0.29
Obesity	25.8	28.5	0.48

BMI, body mass index.
↵* Comparisons of demographic characteristics between the patients in 2013 and the patients in 2017 using Mann-Whitney U test for continuous variables (age and calculated BMI) or χ² test for categorical variables (sex, BMI group, and presence of comorbid conditions).

Table 2.

Body Mass Index Knowledge of Survey Patients^*

BMI Knowledge	2013 Survey	2017 Survey	P Value^†
What does BMI stand for?	61.2	71.1	0.02
BMI is related to what medical concern?	50.7	65.5	0.0005
A BMI of 25 or greater means…	18.3	23.7	0.12
A BMI of 30 or greater means…	19.2	21.1	0.57
A BMI of 40 or greater means…	14.5	20.6	0.06
Do you know what your BMI is?	19.4	18.2	0.73
Have you heard of BMI before this survey?	63.3	71.4	0.04
Has your doctor ever discussed BMI with you	20.1	28.7	0.02

BMI, body mass index.
↵* Data are percentage choosing the correct answer or answering “yes” to the question.
↵† χ² comparison of responses of BMI knowledge questions between patients from 2013 and patients from 2017.