Associations between weight misperception, contextual factors, and weight loss behaviours in young adult men with overweight/obesity

Abstract

Summary Objective Young men are less likely to engage in weight loss behaviours than their female counterparts. This may be because of an increased likelihood for young men, particularly young black men, with overweight/obesity to misperceive their weight status. This study examined racial differences in weight status perception accuracy and associations between this perception and weight loss behaviours among young men. Associations between weight loss behaviours and contextual factors were also explored. Methods Data from 1417 young adult (YA) men with overweight/obesity from the 2007 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were analysed. Associations between weight status perception accuracy, contextual factors, and weight loss attempts and behaviours were examined with logistic regression. Results YA men with overweight/obesity were more likely to report weight loss attempts and behaviours if they perceived themselves as being overweight (OR = 3.10; 95% CI, 2.18‐4.41; P < .01; OR = 3.20, 95% CI, 2.16‐4.72, P < .01, respectively). Greater education and income were associated with a greater likelihood of reporting weight loss attempts and healthy weight loss behaviours. Greater reported depressive symptoms were associated with reported weight loss attempts but not healthy weight loss behaviours. There were no differences by race for reported weight loss attempts or behaviours. Conclusion Among YA men with overweight/obesity, perceiving oneself as overweight was associated with reporting weight loss attempts and healthy weight loss behaviours. Future research should consider how weight status perception accuracy affects weight loss attempts among YA men and what additional factors may account for racial differences.

Association between bodyweight perception, nutritional status, and weight control practices: A cross-sectional analysis from the Chilean Health Survey 2016–2017

“…Results of the association between weight perception and age, SES, and educational level confirmed what was also already previously reported in non-Chilean populations ( Freigang et al, 2020 ), indicating that men, low-income households, and groups with low educational status showed higher rates of misperception in adult samples ( Alwan et al, 2010 ; Johnston and Lordan, 2014 ; Hassan et al, 2018 ; Pool et al, 2019 ). In all these cases, the trend is to underestimate their weight.…”

“…In their review, Haynes et al (2018) found strong evidence of the association between perceived overweight and weight loss attempts from cross-sectional studies. The same was found in a sample of young American men that informed more likelihood of reporting weight loss attempts in men who perceived themselves as overweight ( Pool et al, 2019 ). In another research, participants with weight misperception had 85% lower odds of attempting weight loss than those with accurate weight perception ( Hassan et al, 2018 ), while a population-based cross-sectional study that included 16,720 people concluded that weight control was positively associated with overweight perception ( Yaemsiri et al, 2011 ).…”

“…Some psychological factors, such as beliefs and internal evaluative processes about body image, have important consequences on health ( McCabe et al, 2006 ; Gillen, 2015 ). Among these processes, body weight perception—or how a person regards their body weight—has been widely studied due to its consequences on eating behavior, obesity, health outcomes, and mental health ( McCabe et al, 2006 ; Gillen, 2015 ; Pool et al, 2019 ; Darimont et al, 2020 ). Body weight perception is usually determined compared with individuals’ nutritional status based on body mass index (BMI) ( Howard et al, 2008 ).…”

“…The risks of undetected obesity have been reported ( Robinson et al, 2017 ), and the traditional assumption is that individuals’ failure to accurately identify their weight condition influences weight management strategies. Accordingly, people who recognize weight problems are prone to implement actions to lose weight ( Pool et al, 2019 ).…”

Desire to lose weight was associated with the adoption of weight control strategies but not healthier lifestyle behaviours among post‐bariatric surgery patients: NHANES 2013–2018

“…Bariatric surgery is one of the options and it was excluded from coding for the purposes of this study. The categorization of healthy and unhealthy strategies (Table 1) was based on the coding scheme used in previous studies 25,26 . Participants who identified one or more of the options listed under the healthy or unhealthy behaviours were considered as using the corresponding behaviours.…”