OBJECTIVE To describe perceptions of weight of adolescents and associated factors. DESIGN Cross-sectional survey in 2002. SETTING Eight public middle schools in two distinct socio-economic areas of Jiangsu Province, China. SUBJECTS Eight hundred and twenty-four adolescents (aged 12-14 years) and 628 of their parents. METHODS Self-administered questionnaires for students and their parent...

BACKGROUND This study explored the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and weight perception, self-esteem, positive body image, food beliefs, and mental health status, along with any gender differences in weight perception, in a sample of adolescents in Spain. METHODS The sample comprised 85 students (53 females and 32 males, mean age 17.4 ± 5.5 years) with no psychiatric history who w...

Among a total of 890 women from 2 separate nonclinical samples (1 collected in 1982 on college undergraduates, n = 435, and 1 collected in 1992 on women who were in college in 1982, n = 455), the authors tested a diathesis-stress model of the interrelations of perfectionism, perceived weight status, and bulimic symptoms. The authors predicted and found that perfectionism served as a risk factor...

This study examined the perception of social attractiveness and approval of smoking in a vignette of an American college female smoker after a failed quit attempt. It was hypothesized that she would be perceived more favorably when she was smoking to control her weight, compared to a non-weight related excuse during a failed quit attempt. The design was a 2 (gender: male vs. female)x4 (conditio...

Previous studies have shown that weight stigma and bullying can have detrimental effects on a person’s psychological well-being. Depression, self-esteem, loneliness, and perceived stress were measured as a result of personal experiences with bullying, specifically concerning weight stigma and weight based bullying, in comparison to other forms of bullying (e.g., being shy, having freckles). Uni...

Perception of body-weight status is an important determinant of weight-related behaviours and may affect the burden of weight disturbances as a public-health problem. No study has assessed self-perception of the weight status regarding body-fat distribution among health workers to date. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of the perception of weight and health status among 542...

OBJECTIVE To examine the association between perceived weight discrimination and physical activity in a large population-based sample. DESIGN Data were from 2423 men and 3057 women aged ≥50 years participating in Wave 5 (2010/11) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Participants reported experiences of weight discrimination in everyday life and frequency of light, moderate and vigorou...

The goal of this study was to explore the weight management experiences of Baby Boomer men (born between 1946 and 1964) and to use the information to develop targeted messages and interventions. Twenty men were interviewed. The Health Belief Model was used as the study's theoretical framework. Men correctly identified health risks of being obese. However, most believed that body mass index and ...

OBJECTIVE To examine longitudinal relations between early adolescent family conflict and late adolescent psychosocial adjustment, and the moderating role of low birth weight. METHODS Three groups of adolescents (48 with birth weight <750 g, 46 with birth weight 750-1499 g, and 51 term-born controls) and their parents completed ratings of family conflict at age 11 (Time 1). Parent, teacher, an...

PURPOSE To identify the factors associated with perceived relevance and reported frequency of weight counseling among medical students. METHOD The authors surveyed all medical students in the Class of 2003 at 16 U.S. medical schools during first-year orientation (1999), orientation to wards (2000-2001), and fourth year (2002-2003). RESULTS Across the three time points, response rates were, ...