Abstract
BackgroundThe rising prevalence of obesity and the social pressure for thinness increase the prevalence of dieting. However, little is known about the overall perception of dieting strategies actually used by the general population.ObjectivesOur main objective was to investigate perceptions of weight-loss practices in an observational study in order to identify the most favourable strategy.DesignAdults from the ongoing Nutrinet-Santé cohort study who had reported engaging in dieting in the three previous years were included in the study. For each diet, detailed information was collected on types of diets, circumstances and perception of the diet, and outcomes. Perceptions were compared across diets using sex-specific mixed effects models.ResultAmong the 48 435 subjects who had completed the respective questionnaire, 12 673 (26.7%, 87.8% of women) had followed at least one weight-loss diet in the previous three years. Diet plans prescribed by health professionals and diets conforming to official dietary recommendations were the most favourably perceived among all assessed weight-loss strategies. Alternatively, commercial diet plans and self-imposed dietary restrictions were more negatively perceived (Odds ratios (OR) for adherence difficulty 1.30 (95% confidence interval (0.99;1.7)) in men and OR 1.92 (1.76;2.10) in women compared to official nutritional guidelines; OR 1.06 (0.82;1.38) in men and OR 1.39 (1.26;1.54) in women respectively) compared to official nutritional guidelines.ConclusionOfficial dietary recommendations could be useful tools for maintaining a dietary balance while following a weight-loss diet.
Highlights
IntroductionPrevalence of obesity in industrialized countries has been continuously rising for more than three decades.[1,2] Elevated disease risks linked to overweight and obesity have led authorities to consider this epidemic a major public health challenge.[3,4] social pressure to adhere to a thin body image ideal exposes those not meeting it to consequences encompassing both personal and professional challenges.[5,6] Both medical concerns and this social pressure for thinness drive more and more people to dieting.[7,8,9] In the USA in 2005–2006, 36.9% of men and 57% of women had been on some type of a weight loss diet in the year preceding the report, which represented a 10% increase for women compared to 5 years earlier.[9,10]In this context, the weight-loss market has been growing rapidly in response to the demand and includes a number of commercial diet plans/programs, self-help books written by ‘‘celebrity-status’’ physicians, mobile diet applications and websites, and word-of-mouth marketing
Volunteers from the general population aged .18 years are considered actively enrolled in the cohort upon completion of a set of online self-administered questionnaires assessing diet, physical activity, anthropometrics, lifestyle and socioeconomic conditions and health status
Male dieters tended to be older, more frequently former smokers, more frequently overweight or obese, and less likely to have followed more than one diet in the previous three years. (Table 1) Diet characteristics were significantly different across genders: compared to female dieters, male dieters were less likely to select commercial diet plans, and more likely to undergo selfimposed dietary restrictions (Table 2)
Summary
Prevalence of obesity in industrialized countries has been continuously rising for more than three decades.[1,2] Elevated disease risks linked to overweight and obesity have led authorities to consider this epidemic a major public health challenge.[3,4] social pressure to adhere to a thin body image ideal exposes those not meeting it to consequences encompassing both personal and professional challenges.[5,6] Both medical concerns and this social pressure for thinness drive more and more people to dieting.[7,8,9] In the USA in 2005–2006, 36.9% of men and 57% of women had been on some type of a weight loss diet in the year preceding the report, which represented a 10% increase for women compared to 5 years earlier.[9,10]In this context, the weight-loss market has been growing rapidly in response to the demand and includes a number of commercial diet plans/programs, self-help books written by ‘‘celebrity-status’’ physicians, mobile diet applications and websites, and word-of-mouth marketing. Prevalence of obesity in industrialized countries has been continuously rising for more than three decades.[1,2] Elevated disease risks linked to overweight and obesity have led authorities to consider this epidemic a major public health challenge.[3,4] social pressure to adhere to a thin body image ideal exposes those not meeting it to consequences encompassing both personal and professional challenges.[5,6] Both medical concerns and this social pressure for thinness drive more and more people to dieting.[7,8,9] In the USA in 2005–2006, 36.9% of men and 57% of women had been on some type of a weight loss diet in the year preceding the report, which represented a 10% increase for women compared to 5 years earlier.[9,10]. Little is known about the overall perception of dieting strategies used by the general population
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