Perceptions of weight and associated factors of adolescents in Jiangsu Province, China

Bibliographic Data

ID15097642
AuthorsZumin Shi (0000-0002-3099-3299, University of Oslo, corresponding author), Nancy Lien (0000-0003-1486-4769, University of Oslo), Nanna Lien, Bernadette Nirmal Kumar (University of Oslo), Gerd Holmboe-Ottesen, Gerd Holmboe‐Ottesen (University of Oslo)
Year2007
Volume10
Issue3
Pages298-305
Publication date2007-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePublic Health Nutrition (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1368-9800 • E-ISSN: 1475-2727
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1368980007352488
PMID17288628
OpenAlexW2065963645
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited26

Objective To describe perceptions of weight of adolescents and associated factors. Design Cross-sectional survey in 2002. Setting Eight public middle schools in two distinct socio-economic areas of Jiangsu Province, China. Subjects Eight hundred and twenty-four adolescents (aged 12–14 years) and 628 of their parents. Methods Self-administered questionnaires for students and their parents were used to collect the data. Height and weight of the students were measured. Results One-third of the girls perceived themselves as overweight, while only 8.9% were actually overweight or obese according to the World Health Organization definition. On the other hand, 15.0% of the girls considered themselves underweight, while 5.6% were underweight according to the definition. Among the boys, one-fifth of those defined as overweight perceived their weight as normal. Furthermore, 23.9% perceived themselves as underweight when in fact only 4.9% were classified as underweight according to the definition. About one-quarter of the students dieted in the past year. Adolescents who perceived themselves to be overweight dieted and skipped breakfast more often. They also had lower intake frequencies of animal foods, Western foods and milk/yoghurt. No disparity was observed in the intake frequency of fruits and vegetables between the groups of different weight perception. Parents' weight norms seemed to favour overweight in both genders, but especially among boys. Conclusions Both overweight and underweight concerns were common among girls, while a higher body weight was favoured by normal-weight boys and their parents. Distorted weight perceptions in adolescents, as well as dieting, are problems that need appropriate intervention

China · Environmental health · Geography · Perception · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Medicine · Obesity and Health Practices · Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet · Psychology

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