Is body composition important in young people’s weight management decision-making?

Abstract

AIM: Young people are often seen as an important target for prevention of overweight, but we know little about the factors which are important for their weight management decisions. This study aimed to evaluate the extent to which elements of body composition and dimensions were implicated in their decisions to change their weight. PARTICIPANTS: Participants were 116 male and 126 female volunteers from a tertiary college in the south-west of England with a mean age of 17.90 (s.d. 1.90) y. MEASURES: Body composition measures included height (m), weight (kg), waist and hip circumferences (mm), shoulder and hip girths (mm) and skinfold thicknesses (triceps, calf and subscapular, mm). Students also provided self-reported information on dietary practices they had undertaken in the last year. RESULTS: More females reported attempting weight loss in the last year compared to males (51.5 vs 17.6%), although more males reported attempting weight gain (19.3 vs 2.3%). Reported dietary strategies for both males and females centred around eating less fatty foods, eating less than usual and exercising more. However, a signi®cant proportion of females also reported excessive strategies, such as self-induced vomiting and regular crash dieting. Results indicated that females who desired to lose weight were signi®cantly (P`0.05) heavier, and bigger in terms of circumferences and skeletal breadths, compared to females who did not wish to change their weight. For males, thè weight loss' group were signi®cantly (P`0.05) bigger, heavier and fatter compared to the`no change and`weight gain' group. For females only, the previously signi®cant main effect for body dimensions across weight management groups (Pillais F 14,188 3.81, P`0.001) was extinguished when controlling for bone dimensions (Pillais F 12,198 1.68, P 0.074). CONCLUSION: These results indicate that frame size, particularly in the lower trunk, is a more important predictor of female weight management decision-making, than their levels of fatness. For males, fatness appears to drive their weight management decision-making processes to a greater extent.

The association between the body mass index of first-year female university students and their weight-related perceptions and practices, psychological health, physical activity and other physical health indicators

“…The 55% of our study population who attempted weight reduction in the two years preceding the study is in line with the 45.9% reported for students from the same university in 1988 9 and the 43.5 -64.5% reported for female students from other countries 5,7,8 . Students with a higher mean BMI (whether actually overweight or not) were more inclined to diet at the time of the survey and more inclined to have attempted to lose weight in the two years preceding the study.…”

“…Furthermore, normal-weight students may engage in unnecessary weight-reduction practices to 'normalise' their weight. The results clearly indicate that most students (84.2%), especially normal-and overweight students, were not satisfied with their weight, as was also reported for British female students (62.7%) 5 and American undergraduates (54.3%) 65 . Despite the fact that the students who wished to lose weight had a significantly higher mean BMI than those who were satisfied with their weight, their mean BMI was still within the normal ranges.…”

“…college or university) is a matter of increasing concern 1,2 . The transition from high school to a tertiary institution is known to be an especially problematic stage in adult development 3 and has been found to be associated with a decrease in self-concept 4,5 , psychological distress 3,6 , depression and anxiety 2 . The transition implies that students have to adapt to a new social, academic and psychological environment in which they are now suddenly free to make their own decisions.…”

Risk for Disordered Eating Relates to both Gender and Ethnicity for College Students

“…Others have found that males are more satisfied with their bodies and weight than are females [27], just as found in this assessment. One interesting, recent study on college students in England found that it was the frame size, particularly of the lower trunk, and not fatness, which predicted young women's weight behaviors [34]. Frame size was not examined in the present study.…”

Balancing body perception during growth and development

“…The concept of body perception is cultural, complex and multidimensional (56). Gender differences are apparent in the ways in which male and female adolescents evaluate their bodies; girls tend to view their bodies primarily as a means of attracting others, while boys perceive their bodies as a means of effectively operating in the external environment (54).…”