The Impact of Weight Perception on the Health Behaviors of College Students

Osborn, Jessica; Naquin, Mildred; Gillan, Wynn; Bowers, Ashley

doi:10.1080/19325037.2016.1204966

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…3 Researchers also reported older students having significantly higher body mass index (BMI) scores, and smoking being associated with higher BMI. 17 The demographics of this sample of online students (being older, married, employed, more ethnically diverse) are known to negatively influence physical activity behavior. 18 Furthermore, screen time (amount of time spent in front of a television, computer, or other electronic devices) has been linked to obesity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimizing college health promotion in the digital age: Comparingperceived well-being, health behaviors, health education needs and preferences between college students enrolled in fully online verses campus-based programs

Burcin

Armstrong

Early

et al. 2019

Health Promot Perspect

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Background: There is little published about non-traditional and online college students’ health and well-being. College health services must evolve to address the needs of this growing population. The purpose of this study was to explore risk factors, perceived well-being, health behaviors, and health education preferences of US college students enrolled in a fully online academic programs compared to a national sample of college students enrolled in campus based programs. Methods: This cross-sectional study included a volunteer sample of 961 college students enrolled in two large, U.S. accredited online universities. Participants completed an online survey that included questions and sub scales from the National College Health Assessment (NCHA, IIb). Responses on survey items from student learning online were compared to an equal sample of college students enrolled in non-online programs, randomly drawn from the NCHA IIb national data set (n = 961). Frequencies on survey items were calculated and mean scores of subset measures for online students were compared against those from the NCHA data set using two tailed z-test scores and independent sample t-tests with alpha at 0.05. Results: Online students reported significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher percentages of chronic illnesses, psychiatric conditions, mobility disabilities, deafness/hearing loss, speech/language disorders,cigarette use, obesity, sedentary activity, and depression than the NCHA national sample. Implication for Practice: Health professionals and leaders who work in higher education must consider the shifting landscape and demographics in higher education in order to develop more tailored, innovative digital health promotion approaches that effectively reach the growing population of online, commuter, and older learners.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…19 Several studies have concluded that a higher screen time (more than 21 hours per week) was associated with obesity, regardless of exercise behavior. 17,19,20…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing college health promotion in the digital age: Comparingperceived well-being, health behaviors, health education needs and preferences between college students enrolled in fully online verses campus-based programs

Burcin

Armstrong

Early

et al. 2019

Health Promot Perspect

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Likewise, although they have received relatively limited research attention, perceptions of being underweight are shown to predict lower engagement in PA and less healthy diets (e.g., greater consumption of fast food, unhealthy snacks, sugar sweetened beverages, and energy drinks), than WPs of "about right." [8,21,22].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictors of One-Year Change in How Youth Perceive Their Weight

2020

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Overall, perceptions of being at “about the right weight” appear advantageous for youth physical and mental health, regardless of BMI classification, whereas perceptions at either extreme (overweight or underweight) may negatively impact health behaviours and mental health. Instead of considering weight misperceptions as problematic, some researchers have proposed that underestimations of weight status may offer resiliency among individuals with overweight or obesity. Promoting “about right” WPs and preventing change to overweight or underweight perceptions may offer an effective public health strategy for supporting youth health over time. However, limited prospective evidence exists on factors that shape perceptions of weight status over time. The current study examined modifiable predictors of one-year change in weight perception among youths. We used 2-year linked data of 18,112 grade 9–12 students from Year 3 (Y3:2014–2015) and Year 4 (Y4:2015–2016) of the COMPASS study. Generalized Estimating Equation models tested screen use, physical activity, and bullying victimization as predictors of change from perceptions of “about the right weight” to “overweight” or “underweight” perceptions, adjusting for Y3 covariates (body mass index, ethnicity, and grade) and school cluster. Results support the value of team sports among females and resistance exercise among males as protective against changes to overweight or underweight perceptions over one year. Also, various forms of bullying victimization predicted overweight perceptions in males and females. Watching TV/movies or messaging/texting for over 2 hours/day was associated with overweight and underweight perceptions, respectively, in females only. Playing video/computer games for over 2 hours/day was associated with overweight perceptions in males and underweight perceptions in females. Findings support the potential of bullying prevention, limiting certain screen use, and supporting engagement in team sports for females and resistance exercise for males as strategies to maintain perceptions of being at “about the right weight.”

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“…Related to thinness and muscularly sociocultural body ideals, girls/women are more likely to report perceptions of underweight than boys/men, while boys/men tend to be split between perceptions of underweight and overweight [16]. Regardless of body size, both overweight and underweight perceptions appear detrimental to mental and physical health relative to perceptions of being "about the right weight" [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]; however, the latter has received relatively limited attention.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are weight status and weight perception associated with academic performance among youth?

Livermore

Duncan

Leatherdale

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background: Emerging evidence suggests perceptions of being overweight account for many of the psychosocial consequences commonly associated with obesity. Previous research suggests an obesity achievement gap, yet limited research has explored weight perception in association with academic performance. Moreover, underweight perceptions have typically been excluded from research. The current study examined how BMI classification and weight perception relate to academic performance in a large cohort of youth.Methods: We used cross-sectional survey data from 61,866 grade 9-12 students attending the 122 Canadian schools that participated in Year 6 (2017/2018) of the COMPASS study. Mixed effect regression models were used to examine associations between students’ BMI classification and weight perceptions and their math and English/French course grades. All models were stratified by sex and adjusted for sociodemographic covariates and school clustering. Results: For English/French grades, males and females with overweight or underweight perceptions were less likely to achieve higher grades than their peers with perceptions of being at “about the right weight”, controlling for BMI and covariates. For math grades, females with overweight perceptions, and all students with underweight perceptions, were less likely to achieve higher grades than their peers with “about the right weight” perceptions. All students with BMIs in the obesity range were less likely to report grades of 60% or higher than their peers with “normal-weight” BMIs, controlling for weight perception and covariates. Overweight BMIs were predictive of lower achievement in females for English/French grades, and in males for math grades, relative to “normal-weight” BMIs. Results for students that did not respond to the weight and weight perception items resembled those for obesity BMI and overweight/underweight perceptions, respectively.Conclusions: Overall, this study demonstrates that an obesity achievement gap remains when controlling for students’ perceptions of their weight, and that both underweight and overweight perceptions predict lower academic performance, regardless of BMI classification. Results suggest barriers to academic success exist among youth with larger body sizes, and those with perceptions of deviating from “about the right weight”.

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The Impact of Weight Perception on the Health Behaviors of College Students

Cited by 7 publications

References 26 publications

Optimizing college health promotion in the digital age: Comparingperceived well-being, health behaviors, health education needs and preferences between college students enrolled in fully online verses campus-based programs

Optimizing college health promotion in the digital age: Comparingperceived well-being, health behaviors, health education needs and preferences between college students enrolled in fully online verses campus-based programs

Predictors of One-Year Change in How Youth Perceive Their Weight

Are weight status and weight perception associated with academic performance among youth?

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