Open Access, Peer-reviewed
pISSN 2288-3886
eISSN 2288-3959
    Korean J Nutr. 2010 Dec;43(6):607-619. Korean.
    Published online Dec 31, 2010.
    https://doi.org/10.4163/kjn.2010.43.6.607
    © 2010 The Korean Nutrition Society
    Original Article

    The Concepts of Weight Control and Dietary Behavior in High School Seniors

    Hye-Kyung Chung,1 and Hae-Young Lee2
      • 1Department of Nutrition Services, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul 135-720, Korea.
      • 2Department of Food and Nutrition, Sangji University, Wonju 220-702, Korea.
    • To whom correspondence should be addressed. (Email: hy1317@sangji.ac.kr )
    Received October 11, 2010; Revised November 20, 2010; Accepted November 23, 2010.

    Abstract

    The purpose of this study was to identify the concepts of body image, weight control and food behavior in 520 Korean high school seniors from Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. A questionnaire survey was conducted to investigate body image, concern of weight control, experience of weight control, the first time to try weight control, plan for weight control, reasons of weight control and food behaviors related with weight control. Anthropometric parameters such as weight and height were measured. Finally, data from 497 high school seniors were used for statistical analysis. The results were as follows. Many subjects had misperceptions. Among the subjects who perceived themselves as 'fat', 57.8% were normal weight and 0.5% underweight. Among the subjects who perceived themselves as 'thin', 59.5% were normal weight, 0.9% overweight and 0.9% obese. Girls were more concerned about weight control than boys (4.20 vs. 3.66). Weight loss had been experienced by 61.5% of the subjects and weight gain by 12.8%. First weight control was attempted by 71.3% of the subject at high school and by 28.7% at middle school. The majority of subjects planned for weight control before their freshman year. The boys choose 'health' as the primary reason for weight control, whereas the girls chose 'good appearance'. The total score of food behaviors varied significantly according to BMI. Overweight and obese subjects had more desirable food behaviors than normal weight and underweight subjects (24.00, 24.06 vs. 21.92, 21.52). However, total scores of food behaviors showed no variation according to sex, weight control attempt and body image. In conclusion, the high school seniors had misconceptions about body image and weight control. They were exposed to a high risk of inappropriate weight control and food behaviors. Therefore, proper nutritional education programs need to be developed for high school seniors to prevent nutrition problems related to weight control and to maintain desirable food behaviors.

    Keywords
    high school seniors; body image; weight control; food behavior

    Tables

    Table 1
    General characteristics of respondents

    Table 2
    Body image according to distribution of BMI in total, male and female respondents

    Table 3
    The concern of weight control

    Table 4
    The experience of the weight control attempt

    Table 5
    The first time to weight control attempt1)

    Table 6
    The plan for weight control

    Table 7
    Reasons of try to control his/her weight1)

    Table 8
    Comparison of food behavior related with overweight by gender and weight control attempt

    Table 9
    Comparison of food behavior related with overweight by BMI and perceptions of body shape

    Notes

    This research was supported by Sangji University Research Fund, 2008.

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    MeSH Terms
    Body Image
    Humans
    Overweight
    Surveys and Questionnaires
    Thinness
    Weight Gain
    Weight Loss
    Metrics
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