Harris Interactive conducts surveys online with panels of people who have volunteered to participate. One of these is the “Body Mass Index” panel consisting of people classified into four groups according to their Body Mass Index, BMI:

15,000 underweight adults: BMI < 18.5

38,000 normal weight adults: BMI between 18.5 and 24.9

51,000 overweight adults: BMI between 25 and 29.5

59,000 obese adults: BMI > 29.5

They fill out questionnaires online, which Harris Interactive analyzes to provide information to the food industry on food and drink preferences, how these preferences are affected by attitudes to health, and interest in specialty food products and supplements. Comment on this survey using the concepts discussed in this chapter.