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

Abstract

BackgroundWeight 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.MethodsA 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.Results42.4% 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.ConclusionThere 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.

Underestimation of weight and its associated factors in overweight and obese university students from 21 low, middle and emerging economy countries

“…Innovative interventions may be needed to address young men to take the problem more seriously [6]. Contrary to some other studies [8,12,13], this study did not find any association between older age, lower socioeconomic status and underestimation of overweight. This may be explained by the study population of university students being a rather homogeneous group, with young age and coming generally from a higher socioeconomic background.…”

“…Men had a greater underestimation of their overweight status than women. This finding is confirmed in other studies [4,12,13], and may be because males prefer slightly heavier build [36]. Generally, in a review, Cohane [37] found that girls typically wanted to be thinner, while boys frequently wanted to be bigger.…”

“…The following factors were identified to be associated with underestimation of overweight or obesity: (1) sociodemographic factors, male gender [4,12,13], older age [12,13], lower socio-economic status [8]; (2) well-being variables, self-rated health [14], depressive symptoms [15,16]; (3) weight variables, not trying to lose weight [17,18], disagreement with regard to current weight as a health risk [14], being happy with ones' weight [4], not knowing one's ideal weight [4]; and (4) being physically inactive [17,18].…”

Overweight but unseen: a review of the underestimation of weight status and a visual normalization theory

“…As well as being prevalent among adults, underestimation of self‐perceived weight status is common among children and adolescents 19, 20, 21, with a recent study of more than 70,000 US high school students showing that around one third of the respondents with overweight or obesity failed to correctly identify their weight status as being overweight 22. Underestimation of weight status among individuals with overweight and obesity is frequently observed in both the rich and the poor 23, 24, 25, as well as across a diverse range of ethnic groups 9, 26, 27.…”

Role of Community Pharmacist and Nutritionists in Obesity Management: A Literature Review

“…The physicians recognize obesity as a rising problem in Pakistan, but they do not possess knowledge regarding its complexities neither are significantly trained to treat it successfully. They are hardly trained on acquiring counseling skills related to diet, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles [39]. Similarly, the role of nutritionists and community pharmacist in obesity management is not well perceived by the community as well as by different stakeholders.…”