Abstract
BackgroundEmerging evidence suggests that body weight misperception may be associated with psychological distress among people in developed countries. Participating in physical activity (PA) may negate the association between weight misperception and psychological distress given the well-known benefits of PA on psychological health. This study examined the role of PA in associations between body weight misperception and psychological distress among young South Korean adults.MethodsData from individuals aged 20 to 39 years who participated in the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2010–2012 (N = 6055) was included in the logistic regressions.ResultsThe proportions of the respondents under- and over-perceiving their body weight were 66.9% and 0.8% among men and 16.3% and 15.6% among women respectively. A moderating effect of PA participation was observed on the relationship between body weight over-perception and depressed mood (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.55; 95% Confidence Intervals [95% CI] = 0.34, 0.89). Among individuals who did not meet the recommended vigorous-intensity PA (≥ 20 min/session and ≥ 3 day/week), body weight over-perception was associated with depressed mood (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.19, 2.46) compared to the accurate-perception group. However, no association was observed among those who met the recommended vigorous-intensity PA (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 0.45, 5.22). Similar patterns were found among physically active versus inactive individuals (recommended walking not met: OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.29, 3.15; recommended walking met: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.66, 2.49; muscular strengthening exercises for < 2 day/week: OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.21, 2.51; muscular strengthening exercises for ≥ 2 day/week: OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 0.37, 5.14). No relationship existed between body weight over-perception and depressed mood after adjusting for PA.ConclusionsParticipating in regular PA may buffer a potential negative impact of body weight over-perception on depressive mood.
Highlights
Emerging evidence suggests that body weight misperception may be associated with psychological distress among people in developed countries
Study design and population This study was conducted using data obtained from the 2010–2012 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES-V), an annual survey conducted by the Korea Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC)
The proportion of the sample underperceiving their body weight was higher among men (66.9%) than women (16.3%), whereas the proportion over-perceiving their body weight was higher among women (15.6%) compared to men (0.8%)
Summary
Emerging evidence suggests that body weight misperception may be associated with psychological distress among people in developed countries. Recent studies with South Korean adults suggest that body weight misperception, over-perception (i.e., overperceiving actual weight status) in particular, is associated with psychological distress including severe stress and depressed mood in women [11,12,13], and suicidal ideation in both genders [14, 15]. Rapid westernization of the country since the 1970s has led to changes in sociocultural norms of the ideal body type from plump to slender This shift in ideal body type influences young South Korean adults to under-estimate or over-estimate their body weight and to subsequently engage in unhealthy behaviours in attempting to control their weight due to social desirability [17,18,19,20]. Though body weight over-perception (14%) and weight control attempts (23%) were less severe in young South Korean males compared to their female counterparts, the proportion of South Korean males who try to lose weight was high relative to their male counterparts in different countries (8th), while their mean BMI score (20.7 kg/m2) was the second lowest among the 22 countries [20]
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