Weight expectations, motivations for weight change and perceived factors influencing weight management in young Australian women: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective: To examine young Australian women's weight expectations, motivations for weight change and perceived factors influencing weight management, and to determine if these factors differ by age, BMI, marital status, education or income. Design: Cross-sectional study. An online survey captured respondents' weight, height, ideal weight, main reasons for wanting to change their weight and challenges to managing their weight. Setting: Online survey in Australia. Subjects: Six hundred and twenty women aged 18-30 years currently living in Australia who completed the survey between 31 July and 30 September 2012.Results: Approximately half of participants (53·1 %) were a healthy weight, 25·2 % overweight and 19·0 % obese. Women unhappy at their current weight (78·1 %) reported a median ideal weight −12·3 % less than their current weight. The key motivators for weight change were to improve health (24·4 %, ranked 1), feel better in oneself (22·3 %) and improve self-confidence (21·5 %). Lack of motivation, time constraints because of job commitments and cost were the most commonly reported factors influencing weight management. Age, BMI, marital status, education and income were found to influence weight expectations, motivations for weight change and/or factors perceived to influence weight management. Conclusions: The findings suggest potential implications for weight management interventions and public health messaging targeting young women, to improve long-term health outcomes. Strategies that promote the health benefits of physical activity and healthy eating, feeling better about oneself and improved selfconfidence, and address the main factors influencing weight management including lack of motivation, time constraints and cost, may be used to engage this target group. Keywords Young women Weight goals Motivations Weight managementWeight gain among young women is a major public health concern (1) . A longitudinal study in Australian adults (AUSDIAB) reported that women aged 25-34 years gained an average of 6·6 kg over a 12-year period and this life stage had the highest rate of weight gain among the women studied (2) . Similarly, in a US 10-year prospective study of young adults (18-30 years), Caucasian women experienced a mean weight gain of 6·9 kg (3) . Weight gain during young adulthood and the development of obesity among young women are associated with an increased risk of depression (4,5) , infertility (5,6) , pregnancy complications (5,6) and chronic conditions in adulthood, including type 2 diabetes (5-7) , CVD (5,6,8) and certain cancers (5,6,9) . Interventions to prevent weight gain and obesity among young women have the potential to significantly impact health outcomes and reduce health-care costs at the population level. However, traditional behavioural approaches to weight control may be ineffective for young women, with research suggesting lower rates of recruitment and attendance, higher attrition and less successful weight-loss outcomes (10) Furthermore, recent systematic reviews of wei...

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