Changes in body weight perception may not help in managing obesity: Study

The shifting trends in body weight perception where fewer people now perceive themselves as overweight could reduce the effectiveness of public health interventions aimed at tackling obesity finds a studyThe study involving more than 745000 adolescents from 41 countries across Europe and North America identified an increase in the amount of teenagers who underestimate their body weight making them feel it unnecessary to lose excess weight and lead a healthy lifeThe findings published in the journal Child and Adolescent Obesity also demonstrated a noticeable decrease in those who overestimate their weightDuring this impressionable age body weight perception may influence a young persons lifestyle choices such as the amount and types of food they eat and their exercise habits said lead author Anouk Geraets from the Department of Social Sciences at the University of LuxembourgSo its concerning that were seeing a trend where fewer adolescents perceive themselves as being overweight as this could undermine ongoing efforts to tackle increasing levels of obesity in this age group Young people who underestimate their weight and therefore do not consider themselves to be overweight may not feel they need to lose excess weight and as a result they may make unhealthy lifestyle choices Geraets saidA persons perception of their body weight may not accurately reflect their actual weight A discrepancy in body weight perception BWP may either be an underestimation where actual weight is higher than perceived weight or an overestimation where actual weight is lower than perceived weightIn the study the researchers found underestimation of weight status increased and overestimation of weight status decreased over time among both sexes with stronger trends for girlsCorrect weight perception increased over time among girls while it decreased among boysThe team stated that the increased underestimation and decreased overestimation of weight status over time for girls may be explained by the emergence of an athletic and strong body as a new contemporary body ideal for both sexesThis study has clinical and public health implications The increase in correct weight perception and the decrease in overestimation may have a positive effect on unnecessary and unhealthy weight loss behaviours among adolescents while the increase in underestimation might indicate the need for interventions to strengthen correct weight perception Geraets saidAlso Read Are unruly fans spoiling the music festival experienceThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever