A Comparison Study on Middle School Students of Gwangju and Jeonnam in Terms of Dietary Behavior, Body Perception and Weight Control Concerns According to BMI

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the food habits, eating behaviors, perception of body shape, statuses of body weight control by BMI (Body Mass Index) of 732 middle school students in Gwangju and Jeonnam. The results of this study were compared among under weight (UW), normal weight (NW), and overweight (OW) groups according to BMI levels. In the OW group, female students had low scores in eating at night only, while male students had low scores in eating at night, eating speed, and food selection. All subjects wanted more height than measured. Only male students in the UW group wanted weight loss, whereas female students in the OW and NW groups did. Higher BMI in female students resulted in more weight difference between measured and wanted. All subjects responded properly themselves in perception of body shape but the OW groups showed a big difference between their present weight and wanted weights. Higher BMI in all students corresponded to more interest in concern and experience of weight management. In the male students, the reason for weight management showed high tendency in being healthy, whereas the female students had high tendency in having a slender figure. Higher BMI in all students corresponded to bigger difference between wanted and perceived body shape. In contrast, lower BMI in all students meant more stress. Greater difference between wanted and measured weight and greater difference between wanted and perceived body shape corresponded to less satisfaction in body shape. In conclusion, compared to the NW and UW groups, the OW group had overeating habits highly linked to stress. Also the OW group didn't have desirable eating behaviors and attitudes because of their greater interest in concern and experience of weight control and stress accumulation, and finally there was difference in food habits and behaviors according to the BMI level. Therefore these results suggest that effective nutritional programs should be developed including correct body image and good dietary habits.

Utilizing the Health Belief Model to predicting female middle school students' behavioral intention of weight reduction by weight status

“…About 60% of the students were determined to have normal weight according to the BMI, while 30% and 11% of them were underweight and overweight, respectively. These results differed from other previous researches [ 1 - 3 , 31 , 35 ]. The most similar results were those of Kang and Lee [ 3 ], which showed that 54% of students were normal weight, 37% underweight, and 10% overweight and obese.…”

“…The most similar results were those of Kang and Lee [3], which showed that 54% of students were normal weight, 37% underweight, and 10% overweight and obese. Inconsistency with the results of other studies might be due to regional differences in sampling [1-3,35] or methodological differences [31]. This study calculated the BMI based on self-reported information, while the Korean Ministry of Education, Science and Technology [31] used direct measurements of height and weight.…”

“…Weight reduction behavior is common among adolescent girls. It occurs in not only overweight or obese girls, but also normal weight and underweight girls [ 1 - 7 ]. For weight reduction, the majority of adolescent girls adopted healthy strategies such as moderate dieting by reducing their meal sizes and snacks, and exercise, which can provide benefits to overweight and obese girls.…”

“…For weight reduction, the majority of adolescent girls adopted healthy strategies such as moderate dieting by reducing their meal sizes and snacks, and exercise, which can provide benefits to overweight and obese girls. However, at the same time, some female adolescents used unhealthy strategies to lose weight like skipping meals, fasting, vomiting, or taking diet pills [ 1 , 2 , 5 , 6 , 8 ].…”

Variation in Meal-skipping Rates of Korean Adolescents According to Socio-economic Status: Results of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey

“…The nine independent variables were as follows: student's grade level, body mass index (BMI), family affluence scale as a representation of household income level, average spending money per week, household members, perceived body image, effort towards changing body weight during the last month, stress awareness, and research year. In addition to the demographic factors and variables of direct interest to this study, other variables were mostly selected based on the factors reported in previous research to be associated with adolescents' eating habits [ 14 , 15 , 21 ]. The average amount of spending money per week was also chosen as one of the independent variables in order to examine the effect of being able to afford consuming meal substitutes, such as fast foods or other snacks.…”