Abstract
Objective: To assess the scientific evidence on the relationship between body image and body weight control in overweight ≥55-year-old adults. Methods: The literature search was conducted on MEDLINE database via PubMed, using terms related to body image, weight control and body composition. Inclusion criteria were scientific papers, written in English or Spanish, made on older adults. Exclusion criteria were eating and psychological disorders, low sample size, cancer, severe diseases, physiological disorders other than metabolic syndrome, and bariatric surgery. Results: Fifty-seven studies were included. Only thirteen were conducted exclusively among ≥55-year-old adults or performed analysis adjusted by age. Overweight perception was related to spontaneous weight management, which usually concerned dieting and exercising. More men than women showed over-perception of body image. Ethnics showed different satisfaction level with body weight. As age increases, conformism with body shape, as well as expectations concerning body weight decrease. Misperception and dissatisfaction with body weight are risk factors for participating in an unhealthy lifestyle and make it harder to follow a healthier lifestyle. Body image disturbance also made it more likely to underreport calorie intake. Conclusions: Aging is associated with a decrease in weight concerns and lower overweight perception, especially in women. However, when designing a program to improve body image in overweight ≥55-year-old adults, three items ought to be considered: physical activity, dietary and behavioral treatments.
Highlights
Obesity, and the state of being overweight, are conditions which are understood as an excess of body fat and are associated with increased risk of several diseases and direct causes of quality of life decrease, morbidity and mortality [1]
The most consistent evidence to emerge from this review was that, in the western world, perception of being overweight or obese, as well as body weight dissatisfaction or low ideal Body Mass Index (BMI) were associated to some sort of weight management [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24]
Overweight self-perception is related to spontaneous weight management in overweight adults
Summary
The state of being overweight, are conditions which are understood as an excess of body fat and are associated with increased risk of several diseases and direct causes of quality of life decrease, morbidity and mortality [1]. Being overweight or obese is not necessarily enough be motivated to either start or continue weight management actions, since real body shape is sometimes misperceived [2]. Being overweight or obese could be perceived as normal weight. Less prevalent is the misperception of normal weight as overweight [3]. A correct self-perception of body image may affect body weight control and, eventually, quality of life. Body self-perception could be a helpful tool to health care providers when a body weight control program would be planned
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