Weight misperception amongst youth of a developing country: Pakistan -a cross-sectional study

BMC Public Health

Mustafa Abbas¹  Syed Sami Haider¹  Juwaria Mulla¹  Gulrayz Ahmed¹  Muhammad Danish Saleem¹ 

[1] Medical Student, Dow Medical College, Dow University of Health Sciences, Baba-E-Urdu Road, Karachi, Pakistan

关键词: Underestimation;    Overestimation;    Underweight;    Overweight;    Youth;    Undergraduate students;    Pakistan;    BMI;    Weight misperception;   

Others  :  1161975
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-13-707

 received in 2013-01-27, accepted in 2013-07-31,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Weight misperception is the discordance between an individual’s actual weight status and the perception of his/her weight. It is a common problem in the youth population as enumerated by many international studies. However data from Pakistan in this area is deficient.

Methods

A multi-center cross-sectional survey was carried out in undergraduate university students of Karachi between the ages of 15–24. Participants were questioned regarding their perception of being thin, normal or fat and it was compared with their Body Mass Index (BMI). Measurements of height and weight were taken for this purpose and BMI was categorized using Asian cut offs. Weight misperception was identified when the self-perceived weight (average, fat, thin) did not match the calculated BMI distribution. Chi square tests and logistic regression tests were applied to show associations of misperception and types of misperception (overestimation, underestimation) with independent variables like age, gender, type of university and faculties. P-value of <0.05 was taken as statistically significant.

Results

42.4% of the total participants i.e. 43.3% males and 41% females misperceived their weight. Amongst those who misperceived 38.2% had overestimated and 61.8% had underestimated their weight. Greatest misperception of was observed in the overweight category (91%), specifically amongst overweight males (95%). Females of the underweight category overestimated their weight and males of the overweight category underestimated their weight. Amongst the total participants, females overestimated 8 times more than males (OR 8.054, 95% CI 5.34-12.13). Misperception increased with the age of the participants (OR 1.114, 95% CI 1.041-1.191). Odds of misperception were greater in students of private sector universities as compared to public (OR 1.861, 95% CI: 1.29-2.67). Odds of misperception were less in students of medical sciences (OR 0.693, 95% CI 0.491-0.977), engineering (OR 0.586, 95% CI 0.364-0.941) and business administration (OR 0.439, 95% CI 0.290-0.662) as compared to general faculty universities.

Conclusion

There was marked discrepancy between the calculated BMI and the self-perceived weight in the youth of Karachi. Better awareness campaigns need to be implemented to reverse these trends.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Saleem et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Duncan DT, Wolin KY, Scharoun-Lee M, Ding EL, Warner ET, Bennett GG: Does perception equal reality? Weight misperceptionin relation to weight-related attitudes and behaviors among overweight and obese US adults. Int J BehavNutrPhys Act 2011, 8:20.
• [2]Park E: Overestimation and underestimation: adolescents’ weight perception in comparison to BMI-based weight status and how it varies across socio-demographic factors. J Sch Health 2011, 81(2):57-64.
• [3]United Nations Development Program [Internet] Pakistan: UNDP and Youth; c2013 [cited 2013 January 13]. URL available at http://undp.org.pk/undp-and-the-youth.html webcite
• [4]Rehman T, Rizvi Z, Siddiqui U, Ahmad S, Sophie A, Siddiqui M, et al.: Obesity and adolescence of Pakistan. J Pak Med Assoc 2003, 53:315-319.
• [5]WHO: Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic: report of a WHO consultation. World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser 2000, 894:i-xii,:1–253.
• [6]Qureshi SK, Nazli H, Soomro GY: Nutritional Status of Pakistan. Islamabad, Pakistan: Institute of Nutritional Economics; 2001. Report No.: 8. Available at URL: http://www.pide.org.pk/Mimap/Report08.pdf webcite
• [7]Resse MATB: Underweight: a heavy concern. Today’s Dietitian 2008, 10(1):56.
• [8]Lemon SC, Rosal MC, Zapka J, Borg A, Andersen V: Contributions of weight perceptions to weight loss attempts: differences by body mass index and gender. Body Image 2009, 6(2):90-96.
• [9]Elmer PJ, Obarzanek E, Vollmer WM, Simons-Morton D, Stevens VJ, Young DR, et al.: Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on diet, weight, physical fitness, and blood pressure control: 18-month results of a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 2006, 144(7):485-495.
• [10]Edwards NM, Pettingell S: Where perception meets reality: self-perception of weight in overweight adolescents. Pediatrics 2010, 125(3):e452-e458.
• [11]Kurdak H, Bozdemir N, Saatci E, Ozturk P, Ozcan S, Akpinar E: Self-perceived body weight status and weight-control behaviors of high school students in a southern city of Turkey. CollAntropol 2010, 34(4):1295-1302.
• [12]Bhanji S, Khuwaja AK, Siddiqui F, Azam I, Kazmi K: Underestimation of weight and its associated factors among overweight and obese adults in Pakistan: a cross sectional study. BMC Publ Health 2011, 11:363. BioMed Central Full Text
• [13]WHO Expert Consultation: Appropriate body-mass index for Asian populations and its implications for policy and intervention strategies. Lancet 2004, 363(9403):157-163.
• [14]Skinner AC, Weinberger M, Mulvaney S, Schlundt D, Rothman RL: Accuracy of perceptions of overweight and relation to self-care behaviors among adolescents with type 2 diabetes and their parents. Diabetes Care 2008, 31(2):227-229.
• [15]Jones M, Grilo CM, Masheb RM, White MA: Psychological and behavioral correlates of excess weight: misperception of obese status among persons with Class II obesity. Int J Eat Disord 2010, 43(7):628-632.
• [16]Xu BY, Zhang YH, Ma WJ, Xu YJ, Song XL, Nie SP, et al.: Prevalence regarding weight misperception and related influencing factors among residents in Guangdong province. Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing XueZaZhi 2011, 32(10):964-968.
• [17]Andrade FC, Raffaelli M, Teran-Garcia M, Jerman JA, Garcia CA: Weight status misperception among Mexican young adults. Body Image 2012, 9(1):184-188.
• [18]Jáuregui-Lobera I, Bolaños-Ríos P, Santiago-Fernández MJ, Garrido-Casals O, Sánchez E: Perception of weight and psychological variables in a sample of Spanish adolescents. Diabetes MetabSyndrObes. 2011, 4:245-251.
• [19]Khor GL, Zalilah MS, Phan YY, Ang M, Maznah B, Norimah AK: Perceptions of body image among Malaysian male and female adolescents. Singapore Med J 2009, 50(3):303-311.
• [20]Talamayan KS, Springer AE, Kelder SH, Gorospe EC, Joye KA: Prevalence of overweight misperception and weight control behaviors among normal weight adolescents in the United States. Scientific World Journal 2006, 6:365-373.
• [21]Babar N, Alam M, Ali SS, Ansari A, Atiq M, Awais A, et al.: Anorexic behavior and attitudes among female medical and nursing students at a private university hospital. J Pak Med Assoc 2002, 52(6):272-276.
• [22]Malinauskas BM, Raedeke TD, Aeby VG, Smith JL, Dallas MB: Dieting practices weight perceptions and body composition: a comparison of normal weight overweight and obese college females. Nutr J 2006, 5:11. BioMed Central Full Text
• [23]Khan AN, Khalid S, Khan HI, Jabeen M: Impact of today’s media on university student’s body image in Pakistan: a conservative, developing country’s perspective. BMC Publ Health 2011, 11:379. BioMed Central Full Text
• [24]Wardle J, Haase AM, Steptoe A: Body image and weight control in young adults: international comparisons in university students from 22 countries. Int J Obes (Lond) 2006, 30:644-651.
• [25]Lorenzen LA, Grieve FG, Thomas A: Exposure to muscular male models decreases men’s body satisfaction. Sex Roles 2004, 51(11–12):743-748.
• [26]Howard NJ, Hugo GJ, Taylor AW, Wilson DH: Our perception of weight: socioeconomic and sociocultural explanations. Obes Res ClinPrac 2008, 2(2):125-131.
• [27]Jafar TH, Chaturvedi N, Pappas G: Prevalence of overweight and obesity and their association with hypertension and diabetes mellitus in an Indo-Asian population. CMAJ 2006, 175(9):1071-1077.
• [28]Stigler MH, Arora M, Dhavan P, Shrivastav R, Reddy KS, Perry CL: Weight-related concerns and weight-control behaviors among overweight adolescents in Delhi, India: a cross-sectional study. Int J BehavNutrPhys Act 2011, 8:9.
• [29]Lo WS, Ho SY, Mak KK, Lai HK, Lai YK, Lam TH: Weight misperception and psychosocial health in normal weight Chinese adolescents. Int J PediatrObes 2011, 6(2–2):e381-e389. Epub 2010 Sep 20
• [30]Kim DS, Cho Y, Cho SI, Lim IS: Body weight perception, unhealthy weight control behaviors, and suicidal ideation among Korean adolescents. J Sch Health 2009, 79(12):585-592.
• [31]Han JC, Lawlor DA, Kimm SY: Childhood obesity. Lancet 2010, 375(9727):1737-1748.