Abstract
Introduction: Body weight perception refers to a person 's subjective assessment of their weight as ""underweight"" or ""normal weight"" or ""overweight"", regardless of their actual body mass index. A number of factors impact body weight perception, including age, gender, family, peers, media, and ethnicity. The aim of this study is to describe self-perceived weight status, accuracy of weight perceptions, and weight control practices among teenagers.
Method: A cross-sectional survey involving 2,221 teenagers aged 12-17 years was conducted in eight public secondary schools in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Two-stage cluster sampling was applied where a random selection of schools was done followed by random selection of classes. Self-administered questionnaires on socio-demographic characteristics, perception of body weight status, weight control action being taken and preferred option to lose or gain body weight were distributed to the participants. Body weight and height were measured and BMI-for-age z-scores were computed to determine the actual body weight status.
Results: The findings revealed that 33.5% of the teenagers perceived that they were overweight and obese, whereas about 24.0% of them perceived that they were underweight. Boys had a higher perception of being underweight at 29.8% compared to girls at 19.1%. In contrast, girls had a higher perception of being overweight and obese at 39.1% compared to boys at 26.7%. Almost half of the participants (49.0%) chose to lose body weight, while another 19.2% chose to increase body weight. Exercise was the most preferred option to lose body weight, followed by reducing consumption of high fat foods. On the other hand, increasing the quantity of foods consumed and taking supplements were the preferred options to increase body weight. Among the participants with actual normal body weight, 54.2% correctly perceived their weight to be normal, 26.4% underestimated their body weight, while another 19.5% overestimated themselves. Among the actual overweight participants, 54.6% correctly perceived their weight to be overweight, 41.6% underestimated their body weight, while another 3.7% perceived themselves as obese. Among the actual obese participants, only 12.7% correctly perceived their weight to be obese. Among participants who perceived themselves as thin and severely thin, about half of them intended to take appropriate action, which was to gain weight. Among those who perceived themselves as overweight and obese, most of them intended to take appropriate action, which is to reduce weight. Discussion: Perception of body weight could be a better determinant of weight loss behaviour than actual weight. Both overestimation and underestimation could lead to serious health consequences. For instance, those who overestimate may engage in unnecessary weight loss behaviours, and those who underestimate may not make the necessary changes to their lifestyle to prevent obesity-related diseases. The weight status perception also indicates consistent gender differences; in particular, girls tend to overestimate their weight status and boys tend to underestimate. The findings also suggest that school-based health education programmes should focus on body image and body satisfaction besides promoting healthy lifestyles such as healthy eating behaviours and increasing physical activity.
Links
- https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/APCPH2022-P-19.pdf
- https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/wpforms/1176-1e04940bb5d885bf8711ed1909[...]
BibTeX (Download)
@proceedings{APCPH2022-P-19,
title = {Body Weight Perception and Weight Control Practices among Teenagers in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan},
author = {Lai Wai Kent and Sherina Mohd Sidik and Lekhraj Rampal Gyanchand Rampal and Gan Wan Ying and Siti Irma Fadhilah Ismail},
url = {https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/APCPH2022-P-19.pdf
https://apcph.cphm.my/wp-content/uploads/wpforms/1176-1e04940bb5d885bf8711ed19095a89ed/APCPH2022_LAI-61b4a2f27a417db79470ed7708ba9478.pdf},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-08-02},
urldate = {2022-08-02},
issue = {7},
abstract = {Introduction: Body weight perception refers to a person 's subjective assessment of their weight as ""underweight"" or ""normal weight"" or ""overweight"", regardless of their actual body mass index. A number of factors impact body weight perception, including age, gender, family, peers, media, and ethnicity. The aim of this study is to describe self-perceived weight status, accuracy of weight perceptions, and weight control practices among teenagers.
Method: A cross-sectional survey involving 2,221 teenagers aged 12-17 years was conducted in eight public secondary schools in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. Two-stage cluster sampling was applied where a random selection of schools was done followed by random selection of classes. Self-administered questionnaires on socio-demographic characteristics, perception of body weight status, weight control action being taken and preferred option to lose or gain body weight were distributed to the participants. Body weight and height were measured and BMI-for-age z-scores were computed to determine the actual body weight status.
Results: The findings revealed that 33.5% of the teenagers perceived that they were overweight and obese, whereas about 24.0% of them perceived that they were underweight. Boys had a higher perception of being underweight at 29.8% compared to girls at 19.1%. In contrast, girls had a higher perception of being overweight and obese at 39.1% compared to boys at 26.7%. Almost half of the participants (49.0%) chose to lose body weight, while another 19.2% chose to increase body weight. Exercise was the most preferred option to lose body weight, followed by reducing consumption of high fat foods. On the other hand, increasing the quantity of foods consumed and taking supplements were the preferred options to increase body weight. Among the participants with actual normal body weight, 54.2% correctly perceived their weight to be normal, 26.4% underestimated their body weight, while another 19.5% overestimated themselves. Among the actual overweight participants, 54.6% correctly perceived their weight to be overweight, 41.6% underestimated their body weight, while another 3.7% perceived themselves as obese. Among the actual obese participants, only 12.7% correctly perceived their weight to be obese. Among participants who perceived themselves as thin and severely thin, about half of them intended to take appropriate action, which was to gain weight. Among those who perceived themselves as overweight and obese, most of them intended to take appropriate action, which is to reduce weight. Discussion: Perception of body weight could be a better determinant of weight loss behaviour than actual weight. Both overestimation and underestimation could lead to serious health consequences. For instance, those who overestimate may engage in unnecessary weight loss behaviours, and those who underestimate may not make the necessary changes to their lifestyle to prevent obesity-related diseases. The weight status perception also indicates consistent gender differences; in particular, girls tend to overestimate their weight status and boys tend to underestimate. The findings also suggest that school-based health education programmes should focus on body image and body satisfaction besides promoting healthy lifestyles such as healthy eating behaviours and increasing physical activity.},
howpublished = {published online at https://apcph.cphm.my},
note = {Type: POSTER PRESENTATION; Organisation: Institute for Public Health, National Institutes of Health, Ministry of Health Malaysia; Universiti Putra Malaysia, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences},
keywords = {Body weight perception, misperception, Teenagers, weight control, Weight Status},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {proceedings}
}