Weight Perception Research Articles

Multidimensional background examination of young underweight Japanese women: focusing on their dieting experiences.

This study examines the background of underweight young women in Japan from multiple perspectives, focusing on whether they have ever dieted. A screening survey was administered to 5,905 underweight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2) women aged 18-29 years, who could report their birth weight recorded in their mother-child handbook. Valid responses were obtained from 400 underweight and 189 normal-weight women. The survey collected data regarding height, weight (BMI), body image and perception of weight, dieting experience, exercise habits from elementary school age onwards, and current eating habits. Additionally, five standardized questionnaires were used (EAT-26, eHEALTH, SATAQ-3 JS, TIPI-J, and RSES). The primary analysis was a comparative analysis (t-test/χ2)-with the presence or absence of underweight and diet experience as independent variables, and each questionnaire as a dependent variable. The screening survey revealed that approximately 24% of the total population was underweight, with a low mean BMI. Of the respondents, more than half reported their body image as skinny and a small percentage as obese. Compared with the non-diet-experienced group (NDG), the diet-experienced group (DG) had a significantly higher proportion of past to current exercise habits. There was a significantly higher percentage of disagreement responses from the DG for weight and food gain than for the NDG. The NDG weighed significantly less than the DG in terms of birth weight, and lost weight easier than the DG. Additionally, the NDG was significantly more likely to agree with increasing weight and food intake. The NDG's exercise habits were below 40% from elementary school age to the present, predominantly owing to a dislike for exercise and a lack of opportunity to implement it. In the standardized questionnaire, the DG was significantly higher for EAT-26, eHEALTH, SATAQ-3 JS, and Conscientiousness (TIPI-J), whereas the NDG was only significantly higher for Openness (TIPI-J). The results suggest the need for different health education programs for underweight women who desire to lose weight and experience dieting and for those who do not. This study's results are reflected in the development of sports opportunities optimized for each individual, and in the development of measures to ensure adequate nutritional intake.

Exploring The Relationship Between Body Mass Index (BMI), Body Weight Perception, And Weight Change Behaviour Among University Students in Urban Gujarat, India: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background: In the context of the rising trend of overweight and obesity, young people are more concerned about their weight. This study investigates the association between measured Body Mass Index (BMI), self-perception of body weight and weight change behavior among university students. Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed a sample of 415 university students aged 18-23 years residing in urban areas of Anand. Measures included weight, height, BMI, body weight perception and weight change behavior. The data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, the student’s t-test and Chi-square test. Results: About 36.1% of the participants misclassified their weight category. More women than men felt overweight in relation to their actual body shape. Among normal-weight or underweight BMI participants, 44.4% of females and 31.8% of males were inappropriately trying to lose weight. Conclusions: The study showed a higher prevalence of weight perception and inappropriate weight change behaviour. It also observed that the correct perception of body weight influences the willingness to lose or gain weight. It is important to consider these issues while designing a public health campaign targeting obesity and healthy lifestyles.

Do Childcare Teachers Evaluate Children's Weight Status More Accurately Than Parents? A Brief Report.

Parents' underestimation of young children's weight can reduce their engagement and readiness to implement changes in children's diet and physical activity. Childcare teachers can support parents' identification of children at risk for being overweight only if they can accurately do this themselves. Quantitative, cross-sectional study. Fifteen kindergartens near Lisbon, Portugal. 319 parents, 32 teachers (47.5% and 100% response rate, respectively), and 319 children. Caregivers classified the children's weight, considering their height and age as underweight, healthy weight, or overweight; children's body mass index (BMI) status for age and sex was assessed. Differences in caregivers' accuracy of children's weight perception were assessed. Multilevel multivariate logistic regression models were used to analyze the predictors of the accuracy of teachers' and parents' weight perception as a binary outcome. The proportion of children with overweight correctly assessed differed significantly (P = 0.004) between teachers (31.1%) and parents (17.5%). The child's BMI percentile was the only significant positive predictor for both caregivers' weight perception accuracy (P < 0.001 and P = 0.004, for parents and teachers, respectively), holding the child's age and sex constant. Although childcare teachers were better raters than parents when evaluating children's weight status, the percentage of children with overweight that childcare teachers misclassified was still relatively high.

Relationships of weight perceptions with weight control related behaviors among Chinese children and adolescents: A school-based study in Zhejiang Province.

Weight perceptions have been implicated in weight control related behaviors among children and adolescents, yet studies in mainland China are scarce. We examined the associations of self-perceived weight status and weight misperception with weight control related behaviors in Chinese middle and high school students. We used cross-sectional data from the 2017 Zhejiang Youth Risk Behavior Survey which that included 17,359 Chinese students, with 8,616 boys and 8,743 girls. Perceived weight status, as well as height, weight and weight control related behaviors information was collected via a self-reported questionnaire. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) calculated by multinomial logistic regression were used to assess the relationships between weight perceptions and weight control related behaviors. Among the 17,359 students aged 9 to 18 years, the mean (SD) age was 15.72 (1.64) years. Overall, 34.19% of children and adolescents perceived themselves as overweight and the prevalence of weight misperception was 45.44%, with 35.54% overestimation and 9.90% underestimation. Children and adolescents perceiving themselves as overweight were more likely to have weight control behaviors, with OR was 2.60 (95% CI: 2.39-2.83) for weight control attempt, 2.48 (2.28-2.70) for exercising, 2.85 (2.60-3.11) for dieting, 2.01 (1.51-2.68) for taking laxatives, 2.09 (1.67-2.02) for taking diet pills, and 2.39 (1.94-2.94) for fasting, respectively, compared to those with right weight status. Among children and adolescents with overestimating weight status, the OR was 2.40 (2.22-2.59), 2.50 (2.31-2.70), 2.85 (2.61-3.11), 1.81 (1.39-2.37), 2.20 (1.77-2.74), and 2.16 (1.77-2.63) for weight control attempt, exercising, dieting, taking laxatives, taking diet pills, and fasting, relative to those with accurate weight perception. Self-perceived overweight and weight misperception are prevalent in Chinese children and adolescents, and positively associated with weight control related behaviors.

Roller Bearing Fault Diagnosis Using Deep Transfer Learning and Adaptive Weighting

A fault diagnosis approach for roller bearings utilizing deep transfer learning and adaptive weighting is suggested to address the issue that extra fault state samples in the target domain data of roller bearings impair the fault diagnostic accuracy. CNN-LSTM is a network model proposed by Lecun et al., which has good performance in image processing and image processing. It can effectively apply predictive local perception of time series and weight sharing of CNN, which can greatly reduce the number of networks and improve the efficiency of model learning. The method first establishes a feature extraction module, and uses a deep convolutional neural network to map bearing samples to a high-dimensional feature space. Secondly, uses the transfer learning concept to design a weighted domain discriminator, and adaptively weights the samples; and finally, through the confrontation in the feature space, the bearing samples are classified. Training to increase the domain similarity of the healthy state samples shared by the target domain and the source domain. Then measuring the similarity between these samples based on the sample weight size, and setting a threshold to label the additional fault state samples of the target domains as unknown. The suggested technique is validated using gearbox bearing data, roller bearing data from Case Western Reserve University, and locomotive wheel bearing data. The diagnostic accuracy of the samples is less than 80%, suggesting that the suggested approach can successfully overcome the effects of extra fault state samples and diagnose roller bearing faults.

91 Horse owners’ perspectives of horse weight management

Equine obesity is a significant welfare issue in developed countries. As the main decision-maker for horses, owners are at the forefront of horse welfare, yet limited research has assessed owners’ role in horse weight management. This study aimed to: 1) compare horse owner assessments of their horses’ weight with a veterinarian assessment and, 2) identify how horse owners understand their horses’ weight and implement weight management strategies in practice. An on-farm horse care questionnaire was administered to 76 horse owners in Prince Edward Island, Canada. Owners indicated whether they thought their horse(s) were underweight, healthy, or overweight. Owner and veterinarian perception of horse weight was compared using a 3-by-3 table and kappa statistics (n = 411 horses). Of the 76 owners, 24 owners of overweight horses were purposively sampled to participate in in-depth qualitative interviews. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using template analysis, a qualitative research approach in which textual data are coded to identify patterns and develop overarching themes. There was fair agreement (kappa = 0.4) between the veterinarian's and owners’ weight assessment, but owners tended to underestimate (20%) versus overestimate (9%) their horses’ weight. Analysis of the in-depth interviews (a total of 24 h of conversation) revealed that horse owners discussed weight management in complex ways that incorporated aspects of their horses’welfare and background. Owners discussed trade-offs between managing horses in outdoor, group environments and maintaining their horse within a “healthy” weight. Further, emotional responses to managing under- versus overweight horses and societal norms influenced horse owners’ decisions toward managing their horses as slightly overweight compared with slightly underweight despite their belief that horses’ physical health is better when managed as slightly underweight. Owners took personal responsibility of weight management-related decisions for their horse(s) but sought knowledge from respected horse owners in their community. Owners constructed the veterinarians’ role as predominantly treatment-oriented and did not consider them resources for preventative care related to horse weight management. These findings suggest that owners place importance on managing their horses' weight yet face intrinsic and extrinsic barriers that require shifts in societal paradigms and enhancement of knowledge transfer. Emphasis for knowledge dissemination and translation may need to be placed on equestrian bodies outside of the veterinary community, given that horse owners consider their peers a primary knowledge source.

Perception, environmental determinants, and health complications of excess weight in India: a mixed methods approach

In light of the high and rising prevalence of obesity, we studied females and males aged 25–54 years with excess weight in the Kolkata metropolitan region, one of India's main cities, to understand the perception, environmental determinants and health complications of obesity. We resorted to primary fieldwork. The close-ended quantitative survey questionnaire was designed to capture the perception and health complications of the sampled population, while a semi-structured interview guide comprising open-ended questions was prepared to capture the target population’s in-depth views. Following the WHO guidelines on BMI and WC cut-off for Asian adults, the sampled population comprised females and males aged 25–54 with a waist circumference of 80 cm and 90 cm or higher, respectively, and a BMI of 25 or higher in the Kolkata metropolitan area. Using a concurrent mixed methods approach, we collected and analysed quantitative and qualitative data separately using descriptive statistics and inductive coding before combining them. In the study area, we completed 120 surveys and 18 in-depth interviews. Some environmental factors promoting obesity were the lack of access to healthy, fresh foods, lack of health awareness programmes, advertisements, and weather conditions in Kolkata. Interview participants also extended their concerns about food adulteration and the food industry. Participants confirmed that obesity could increase the risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol and heart disease. Further, participants felt squatting was challenging for them. Hypertension was the most common existing health complication found among the study participants. Participants suggested raising awareness, promoting and making access to healthy food and wellness programs more accessible, and regulating fast foods and sugary beverages at institutional, community and social/public policy levels to prevent obesity. Health education and better policies are required to combat obesity and related complications.

Body Uneasiness, Body Figure Perception, and Body Weight: Factor Structure and Longitudinal Measurement Invariance of a Set of Attitudinal and Perceptual Body Image Assessment Tools in Adolescents.

Body image is a multifaceted construct that includes attitudinal and perceptual components, but its attention has mainly been focused on the facet of body dissatisfaction. The present longitudinal study extended the validation of a multifacet attitudinal questionnaire, the Body Uneasiness Test (BUT), against perceptions of body shape and weight. A convenient sample of adolescents took part in a 2-year unbalanced panel study (5 waves). The participants completed the BUT questionnaire and selected their perceived actual, ideal, and reflected body figures along the Contour Drawing Rating Scale; ideal/actual and ideal/normative body mass index discrepancies were also included. After replicating the expected five-factor structure of the BUT items, results from confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the five BUT scales loaded on an attitudinal dimension, whereas the perceived body figures and the discrepancy indices were on a perceptive domain. Such a two-domain structure of body image measures showed gender and seasonal (1-year) measurement invariance, whereas longitudinal 6-month and 18-month invariance partially failed. Overall, the present findings support the validity of the Body Uneasiness Test in adolescence, further demonstrating a preliminary multidimensional structure of body image onto which attitudinal and perceptual body image-related measures were projected.

Association between Weight Status and Mental Health among Korean Adolescents: A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

This study explored the relationship between adolescents' weight status and mental health problems. It specifically investigated the weight perceptions of obese adolescents and the effect on their mental health. This cross-sectional study was based on the data of adolescents aged 12-18 years from the Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (2010-2019). Data regarding anthropometric measurements, health conditions, and socioeconomic status were extracted, and the associations between weight status (actual, perceived, or misperceived) and mental health conditions (depressed mood, perceived stress, and suicidal ideation) were analyzed using complex sample multiple logistic regression after adjusting for possible confounders. A total of 5683 adolescents (53.1% boys and 46.9% girls) were included in this study, with a mean age of 15.1 years. Among the participants, actual, perceived, and misperceived status of being overweight were observed in 20.8%, 32.7%, and 18.4%, respectively. Additionally, depressed mood, perceived stress, and suicidal ideation were observed in 9.1%, 25.7%, and 7.4% of Korean adolescents, respectively, with higher prevalences in girls for all three conditions. Actual weight status was not significantly associated with mental health conditions in either sex. Furthermore, girls who perceived themselves to be overweight, regardless of their actual body weight, or who had overestimated their actual weight were more likely to have experienced depressed mood and stress, while boys who perceived themselves to be underweight were more likely to have experienced suicidal ideation than participants with an average weight perception or an accurate recognition of their weight status. Conversely, in overweight/obese participants, perceived weight status was not associated with mental health conditions. In conclusion, perceived weight status and its discrepancy with actual body weight were more strongly associated with an increased risk of mental health problems than actual weight status itself among Korean adolescents. Therefore, adolescents' perceptions of their body image and weight-related attitude should be assessed to promote their mental health.

EVALUATION OF NUTRITIONAL BEHAVIOR AND FOOD PERSPECTIVES OF WOMEN OVER 65 WHO RECEIVED CALORIE-RESTRICTED DIET

This study aims to conduct a qualitative study to evaluate the nutritional behaviors and food perspectives of the elderly, together with the healthy nutrition practice, the effectiveness and benefits of which are frequently reported in the literature. To study; in Karabuk province, Safranbolu District Health Directorate, who applied to the Obesity Polyclinic; a total of 25 volunteer women over the age of 65 who received healthy nutrition counseling services participated in the study. The research, which was designed using the semi-structured interview method based on the qualitative research approach. There were 25 female participants with a mean age of 68.0±1.2 years. While the average body weight of the participants was 86.00±19.00 kg; the average height is 163.00±9.00 cm. The average BMI of the participants was 32.30±3.26 kg/m2. Participants generally mentioned that the environment, culture, family, and friends they live in have negative effects on their eating habits and experiences. Our study compared to previous studies; suggests that while also accepting other health-related factors, such as mental and physical function, it is recommended to also address weight perception when done in a non-stigmatizing way.

Puerperium experience and lifestyle in women with gestational diabetes mellitus and overweight/obesity in China: A qualitative study.

Women with overweight or obesity and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and other metabolic diseases. Healthy postpartum lifestyles in women with GDM are important for effectively preventing early T2DM occurrence; however, few studies and guidelines focus in China on this issue. This qualitative study aimed to understand the puerperium experience and lifestyle of women with overweight/obesity and GDM. A face-to-face, in-depth, and semi-structured interview was conducted using a hermeneutical phenomenology method to collect data that were analyzed through thematic analysis. Out of 61 recruited women with overweight/obesity and history of GDM, 14 women underwent an interview and provided detailed descriptions of their lifestyle experiences during puerperium. The interview data were used to generate four themes-puerperium dietary behavior, weight perception and "confinement" behavior, family support, disease knowledge, and perceived risk-and nine sub-themes. Unhealthy lifestyles, misconceptions about food, the conflict between physical activity and confinement behavior, a lack of social and family support, and low awareness of disease risk are all common among overweight/obese women with a history of GDM. Thus, we emphasized that healthcare providers should provide continuous preventive care from pregnancy to postpartum and promote long-term health in high-risk populations with a history of GDM associated with overweight/obesity.

‘Let the ladies know’: queer women’s perceptions of how gender and sexual orientation shape their eating and weight concerns

This exploratory study aimed to describe the lived experiences of queer women affected by eating and weight-related concerns. Qualitative data from young queer women (n = 105; Age = 23.6 ± 3.4 years) with eating and weight-related concerns in response to open-ended questions related to the influence of gender identity and body image on weight concern, behaviours, and perception were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Nine themes were created to describe participants’ experiences: (1) compensation for other internalised stigma, (2) to suppress body parts that can be gendered or sexualised, (3) comparisons to romantic partners’ bodies, (4) media representations, (5) queer signalling, (6) queerness as protective, (7) gender expression and dysphoria, (8) societal expectations of women’s bodies, and (9) internalisation of body/beauty ideals. Seven sub-themes were created to represent beauty ideals for specific subcultural communities (e.g. femme, butch). Findings suggest that queer women attribute individual, interpersonal and social factors to weight concerns, behaviours and perceptions. Findings highlight how complex tensions between the beauty/body ideals experienced in cisheteronormative and queer spaces influence eating and weight concerns among queer women. Gender, sexual orientation and subcultural ideals intersect in important ways, and may be useful to consider when screening, treating and preventing eating and weight concerns among queer women.

Snacking Habits, Strict Diet, BMI, and Body Image of Adolescents in Three Sub-Districts in Depok and Bogor

Background: Body image is related to adolescent food preferences, which determine their nutritional status. Peri-urban areas might have different adolescents' snacking habits, strict diets, nutritional status, and body image. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the association between adolescents' snacking habits, implementation of a strict diet, and nutritional status on their body image. Methods: This study used a mix-method, a combination of the quantitative and qualitative survey with a cross-sectional design. A total of 39 adolescents aged 15-18 who live in the peri-urban areas of Depok and Bogor were consecutively selected. The study was conducted in January 2022. Quantitative data include respondents' characteristics, body weight and height, snacking habits, and body image. Qualitative data collected were types of snacks, their reasons for buying snacks, and perceptions of ideal weight. Results: The nutritional status of the respondents was underweighted (5%), normal (92%), and overweight (3%), with snacking frequency 4-7 times/week (59%) with a weekly snacking expenditure of IDR 15,000 – 30,000 (49 %). As many as 23% of respondents performed a strict diet and perceived having a thin (21%) and fat (23%) body image. Adolescents with normal nutritional status were perceived as having fat (20.5%) and thin (15.4%) body image (p: 0,0215). There was also a relationship between diet (p: 0.0084) and weekly snacking expenditure (p: 0.0152) with body image, and there was no relationship between snacking frequency (p: 0.3123) and daily meal frequency (p-value=0.3972) with body image. Conclusions: A wrong perception of body image from actual nutritional status can affect snacking habits and the implementation of a strict diet among adolescents.

Polycystic ovary syndrome is associated with weight-loss attempts and perception of overweight independent of BMI: a population-based cohort study.

Up to 70% of women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have pre-obesity or obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether women with PCOS have more weight-loss attempts than women without PCOS, regardless of BMI. Moreover, women's weight perceptions in relation to previous weight-loss attempts were evaluated. A population-based birth cohort study included women with (n=278) and without PCOS (control individuals, n=1560) who were examined at ages 31 and 46 years with questionnaires and clinical examinations. Women with PCOS had more weight-loss attempts compared with control individuals at age 31 (47% vs. 34%, p < 0.001) and 46 years (63% vs. 47%, p < 0.001). At age 46 years, PCOS was associated with multiple weight-loss attempts in the adjusted model (odds ratio: 1.43 [95% CI: 1.00-2.03], p=0.05). The perception of having overweight was more prevalent in those with PCOS, even among participants with normal weight, at age 31 (PCOS 47% vs. control 34%, p=0.014) and 46 years (PCOS 60% vs. control 39%, p=0.001). Women with PCOS were more likely to have experienced multiple weight-loss attempts and a perception of having overweight compared with control individuals, regardless of obesity status.

Weight Illusion Caused by Sinusoidal Vibration Correlates with Grip Force Adjustment

Our research team previously identified a weight illusion in which a lifted object feels heavy when it continuously presents a sinusoidal vibration to the fingertips. However, the mechanism underlying this illusion remains unknown. We thus hypothesized that the autonomous grip force adjustment against a vibrating object would be one of the factors underlying the weight illusion. The autonomous grip force adjustment increases the motor outputs of a human hand system, subsequently raising the sense of effort to keep holding the lifted object. The grip forces and perceived heaviness were evaluated using vibratory stimuli with five different frequencies (30 Hz, 60 Hz, 100 Hz, 200 Hz, and 300 Hz) and three different amplitudes (156 μm, 177 μm, and 203 μm). The results showed that the stimuli at lower frequencies or large amplitudes increased the grip forces more and felt heavier than the stimuli at higher frequencies or small amplitudes. Specifically, the 30 Hz stimuli felt the heaviest and increased the grip force the most. An increase in the grip force was positively correlated with the perceived heaviness. These results indicate that vibratory stimuli influence both the grip force and weight perception. Our findings can contribute to developing haptic displays to present virtual heaviness.

Maternal perceptions of infant's body weight and childhood obesity in South Africa: A qualitative study in Soweto

AbstractFrom a socio‐anthropological study focusing on maternal body weight perceptions and dietary practices towards infants living in Soweto (South Africa), we studied how lay sociocultural traits may lead to early childhood obesity. Most mothers tended to socially value and normalize fatness. This propensity led mothers, particularly older women at home, to adopt high‐calorie feeding practices towards infants, although some mothers tended to question these lay norms. Further works must consider how lay (emic) sociocultural norms in African townships can contradict biomedical (etic) messages, conveying for the community thinness as the acceptable standard, and may expose infants to early obesity.

Actual Guidance Is Enough

In a recent article, Sharadin and van Someren Greve call into question an idea many philosophers take to be platitudinous, namely that deontic evaluation is capable of action guidance. In this critical note, I argue that their skeptical worries are unwarranted. The central problem in their argument, I claim, is a too unrestrained account of "actual guidance". According to this account, an agent's deontic evaluation of an action alternative that bears the result that the action in question is both right and wrong would actually guide the agent with respect to whether or not to perform it. This, I argue, is implausible because it does not help the agent to settle the issue she is interested in. I propose an alternative account of actual guidance, according to which a deontic evaluation actually guides an agent with respect to whether or not to perform an action, X, if, and only if, it changes the agent's perception of the relative weight of the pros and cons of X-ing. This understanding of "actual guidance", I claim, is coherent, natural, and better captures our pre-theoretical sense of what it means for a consideration to help an agent to settle the question of whether or not to perform an action. However, since Sharadin's and van Someren Greve's skeptical endeavor entirely depends on the claim that we could not understand "actual guidance" in this way, their argument never really gets off the ground. I conclude that the authors do not provide a sufficient basis for doubting that deontic evaluation is capable of doing what it is for.

Socioeconomic inequalities in diabetes prevalence: the case of South Africa between 2003 and 2016

BackgroundDiabetes is a growing epidemic worldwide and the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) is frequently acknowledged in the literature. This study aims to compare the effect of SES on diabetes prevalence in South Africa between 2003 and 2016. In addition, vulnerable groups regarding diabetes development in 2016 will be identified.MethodsUsing DHS data there were 8,006 participants (59.19% women) in 2003 and 10,292 participants (59.42% women) in 2016. Logistic regression and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for diabetes by age, gender, educational level and place of residence. To identify vulnerable groups with high risk of developing diabetes in 2016, the method of p-value based regression tree analysis was applied using “wealth index” and “weight perception” as additional variables.ResultsThere was an increase in diabetes prevalence from 3.86% in 2003 to 4.46% in 2016. Women had more risk of developing diabetes at both time points (27% in 2003 and 24% in 2016 more risk). Increase in age and living in urban areas were associated with more risk of developing diabetes at both time points. There was no specific pattern regarding risk of developing diabetes and educational level in case of women. However, men who completed secondary school or had a higher diploma or above had more risk of developing diabetes in 2016 (OR = 2.24 and 4.67 respectively). Vulnerable groups who have higher risk of developing diabetes in 2016 were participants aged “60 years or older” with a wealth index of “rich” or “richer”, followed by participants from the same age group who were “poor” or “poorer” and participants aged “40–59 years” with a wealth index of “rich” or “richer”. Subsequently were participants from the age group “15–39 years” with a weight perception of “overweight” or “obese”.ConclusionDiabetes prevalence increased in South Africa between 2003 and 2016. Main risk factors were age, gender and living in urban areas. Men with high educational level were more at risk of developing diabetes in 2016. Vulnerable groups in 2016 were participants 40 years and older, particularly with high SES. This was followed by younger participants who were obese or overweight.

Weight perception analysis using pseudo-haptic feedback based on physical work evaluation

Introduction: Since kinesthetic cues are not present in virtual environments, users have difficulty feeling the heaviness of virtual objects. To address this issue, pseudo-haptic approaches have been proposed to illusorily induce the weight of virtual objects through the user’s visual sensory system.Methods: In this paper, we used two methods to induce the impression of virtual objects’ heaviness. One relies on the direct modification of the control-display (C/D) ratio when lifting objects, and the other depends on controlling this ratio based on a velocity restriction. We innovatively measured each approach’s efficiency by analyzing physical work as an objective metric. In addition, we used Borg CR10 to measure users’ hand fatigue during the experimental phases.Results: Our findings are discussed in terms of individual lifting behavior in different pseudo-haptic methods. Furthermore, different virtual weight-lifting behaviors were compared to the same real-world weight-lifting behaviors.Discussion: According to our results, the direct control of the C/D ratio method provides virtual reality users with a more accurate weight perception than the velocity restriction one. Furthermore, with this first method, users’ lifting behavior was closer to the behavior when lifting real objects.

Do Weight Perception Transitions in Adolescence Predict Concurrent and Long-Term Disordered Eating Behaviors?

PurposePerceiving one's weight as “overweight” is associated with disordered eating in adolescence. Yet, it is unknown whether weight perceptions change during adolescence, or whether these weight perception transitions predict disordered eating. This study aims to: (1) characterize weight perception transitions from early to late adolescence among a population-based sample and (2) examine whether weight perception transitions in adolescence predict concurrent and future disordered eating into young adulthood. MethodsEating and Activity in Teens and Young Adults (N = 1,414) survey data were used to examine correlates of weight perception transitions from early (Mage = 14.9 ± 1.6 years) to late adolescence (Mage = 19.4 ± 1.6 years). Adjusted generalized estimating equations were used to determine whether weight perception transitions in adolescence predicted concurrent and future disordered eating in emerging adulthood (Mage = 25.2 ± 1.6 years) and young adulthood (Mage = 31.0 ± 1.6 years). ResultsWeight perceptions were stable from early to late adolescence for 77.2% of adolescents, whereas 15.5% transitioned to perceiving their weight as “overweight” and 7.3% stopped perceiving “overweight” in late adolescence. Perceived “overweight”, especially in late adolescence, was associated with higher concurrent and long-term disordered eating up to 10 years later. For example, the predicted prevalence of binge eating in young adulthood among individuals who perceived their weight as “overweight” throughout adolescence was 20.1% compared to 6.6% for those who never perceived their weight as “overweight” in adolescence. DiscussionAdolescent weight perception was relatively stable in this population-based sample. However, weight perception transitions that involved perceiving “overweight”, particularly in late adolescence, were associated with long-term higher risk of disordered eating.