J Korean Med Sci.  2015 Nov;30(11):1558-1566. 10.3346/jkms.2015.30.11.1558.

The Association between Body Weight Misperception and Psychosocial Factors in Korean Adult Women Less than 65 Years Old with Normal Weight

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Applied Life Chemistry, Seoul National University College of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul, Korea.
  • 2Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
  • 3Department of Education and Research, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
  • 4Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea. keyhone2@snu.ac.kr

Abstract

With society's increasing interest in weight control and body weight, we investigated the association between psychological factors and body image misperception in different age groups of adult Korean women with a normal weight. On a total of 4,600 women from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2007-2009, a self-report questionnaire was used to assess body weight perception and 3 psychological factors: self-rated health status, stress recognition, and depressed mood. Through logistic regression analysis, a poor self-rated health status (P = 0.001) and a higher recognition of stress (P = 0.001) were significantly associated with body image misperception and this significance remained after controlling for several sociodemographic (Model 1: adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31-2.00), health behavior and psychological factors (Model 2: aOR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.29-1.96; Model 3: aOR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.01-1.84). Especially, highly stressed middle-aged (50-64 yr) women were more likely to have body image misperception (Model 2: aOR, 2.85; 95% CI, 1.30-6.26). However, the correlation between depressed mood and self-reported body weight was inconsistent between different age groups. In conclusion, self-rated health status and a high recognition rate of severe stress were related to body weight misperception which could suggest tailored intervention to adult women especially women in younger age or low self-rated health status or a high recognition rate of severe stress.

Keyword

Korean; Women; Psychological; Body Weight Misperception; Normal Weight

MeSH Terms

Adult
Age Distribution
Aged
Aging/psychology
Body Dysmorphic Disorders/*epidemiology/*psychology
Body Image/*psychology
*Body Weight
Comorbidity
Depression/*epidemiology/*psychology
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Middle Aged
Prevalence
Psychology
Reference Values
Republic of Korea/epidemiology
Risk Factors
Self Report
Women's Health/statistics & numerical data
Young Adult

Figure

  • Fig. 1 The study population framework. *The 2007-2009 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.


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