A Study on the Perception of Obesity by Age and the Attitude toward Weight Control

Along with the increasing interests of modem-day society toward topics of health and beauty, various studies are being actively conducted on the effects of diet for obesity prevention, and separate from aspects of disease prevention and health promotion. This study aimed to examine individual perceptions of obesity by age, and to prepare basic data for implementing an age-based weight control system, by comparing attitudes toward weight control. The research and analysis were conducted using questionnaires, provided to high school students(teenagers, 189 students), college students(20 or older, 116 students), and adults(30 or over, 88 adults) living in Daegu City. In terms of the respondents' perceptions of obesity, among those who described themselves as overweight, only about 10% were actually proven to be overweight. Also, significantly more female students than male students perceived themselves as overweight, despite the fact that they were in a normal weight range(p<0.007). There was no significant difference in the cause of obesity by gender, but it was found to be attributed to a lack of exercise for teenagers, and poor eating habits for those in their twenties and thirties. Concerning the intention to participate in a weight management class, the female teenagers showed significantly more interest than the male teenagers(p<0.017). Also, with regard to the respondents' attitudes toward weight control, the teenage females showed significantly higher interest in weight control than the teenage males p<0.003 and those in their twenties p<0.001. Moreover, regarding the period in which the respondents became most interested in weight, the teenage male students were most interested in weight during their middle school years and teenage females became most interested during their high school years. Therefore, the information from this study leads us to propose there is a need to correct the suggested reckless dieting that is occurring within an appearance-based society, as well as a need to establish a systematic weight control system, along with gathering subsequent basic data.

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