• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.36-42
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• 2010

A cross-sectional survey was used to investigate the rates of overweight and obesity (BMI$\geq$25), and eating attitudes among college students. Data were collected at a large southeastern university. Adolescents (ages 18-25) self-reported weight and height (to calculate BMI), and, in addition to demographic information, completed the eating attitudes (EAT 26) scale to assess dieting tendencies. Significance of the mean BMI differences between gender and ethnic background were assessed by one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA). Chi-square was used to determine whether the rate of those with BMI$\geq$25 between gender and ethnic background was statistically significant. While 52.7% of the students' BMI were within the normal weight category, 15.2% were underweight, 21.3% were overweight, and 10.8% were obese. The rate of BMI$\geq$25 differed by gender and ethnicity, with males and African Americans having higher rates. About 12 % of the participants reported disturbed eating behavior, which is lower than previously reported. Even so, results support the generally held belief that disturbed eating attitudes and unhealthy dieting are common among college students, especially among females. At the same time, disturbed eating attitudes are not just the domain of young female students; about 10% of college males reported disturbed eating attitudes. Findings of this study call for obesity prevention/intervention and lifestyle modification outreach programs among college students. Weight status and unhealthy eating behaviors of college. students should be a concern to health care professionals. While obese young adults will likely remain obese throughout their adult life, excessive dieting among students, which is linked to eating disorders and other health hazards, does not provide healthy and adequate alternatives for maintaining a normal BMI. Implications for obesity prevention programs are discussed.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.391-401
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• 2000

This descriptive study was designed to identify the factors associated with weight control behaviors among 273 high school girls with normal body weight. The objectives of the study were ⅰ) to evaluate subjective obesity and satisfaction with the body shape, ⅱ) to describe the weight control behaviors and the motivation, ⅲ) to reveal the relationships between the weight control behaviors and BMI (Body Mass Index), iv) to investigate the relationships between the weight control behaviors and subjective obesity and satisfaction with the body shape, and v) to investigate the relationships between the weight control behaviors and family support. The results showed that 62.6% of the adolescent girls with normal weight perceived that they were fatty and 9.9% thought they were obese. Seventy-five percent of them were not satisfied with their body shape. Eighty percent of the participants reported the main motivation of weight control was to have an attractive appearance. In this study, self-reported weight control methods included dieting (64.8%, skipping or reducing meals), exercise (36.6%), and special dieting (20.1%) such as eating an increased amount of juice or vegetables. It was shown that the subjects who were not satisfied with their body shape and perceived themselves as fatty or obese were active in exercise, diet, and other special diets. Subjects who were on diets and special diets had a higher level of BMI than who were not on diet and special diet. Subjects who exercise had a lower level of BMI than who did not exercised. Family support was significantly related to exercise behavior. The research suggested that there is a increasing responsibility for school nurse to instruct on the body shape and weight control behaviors through health education and consultation. Also, the results suggested that it is important to develop proper diet and exercise methods for adolescents girls to maintain their weight and health.

• Women's Health Nursing
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.310-319
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• 2007

Purpose: The descriptive correlational study was designed to examine the relationship of eating behavior to depression, trait anger, anger expression, Behavior Activation System(BAS) and Behavior Inhibition System(BIS) in adolescent women. Method: 437 women aged 15 to 18 years were recruited from two high schools located in Seoul, Korea. The instruments used were SCL's depression scale, Spielberger's state trait anger expression inventory-Korean version for trait anger and anger expression, the Korean-BAS/BIS scale for behavior activation system and behavior inhibition system, and Eating Attitude Test(EAT-26) for eating behavior. Results: The score of EAT significantly correlated with depression, trait anger, anger expression, BAS and BIS. The EAT score also had a significant relationship with anger-in and anger-out. Depression only correlated with the dieting among factors of EAT, Trait anger, anger-in and anger-out showed a significant correlation with EAT factors such as dieting and oral control. BAS significantly correlated with dieting; whereas, BIS revealed a relationship with bulimia/food preoccupation. Conclusion: Based on this results, various variables need to be included for a nursing intervention program leading to healthy diet behaviors of adolescent women.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.175-181
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• 2012

The widespread pursuit of a thin physique may have a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of preadolescents. The influence of body image distortions on the lifestyles, dieting behaviors, and psychological factors was investigated in 631 fifth and sixth grade children in Kyeonggi-do, Korea. Children were classified into three weight groups (underweight, normal, and overweight) and three perception groups (underestimation, normal, and overestimation). Necessary information was obtained by questionnaire, and each subject's weight status was determined by the Rohrer index calculated from the annual measurement records, which were obtained from the school. According to their current weights, 57.4% of children were normal and 32.2% were overweight or obese, 16.6% of the children overestimated their body weight, and 55.2% had an undistorted body image. Overweight children had desirable lifestyles and dietary habits and presented reasonable weight control behaviors. Compared to those without distortion, the overestimated group had greater interest in weight control ($P$ = 0.003) and dissatisfaction with their body weights ($P$ = 0.011), presented unhealthy reasons to lose weight ($P$ = 0.026), and had higher scores for "feeling sad when comparing own body with others" ($P$ = 0.000) and for "easily getting annoyed and tired" ($P$ = 0.037), even though they had similar obesity indices. More subjects from the overestimation group ($P$ = 0.006) chose drama/movies as their favorite TV programs, suggesting a possible role for the media in body image distortion. These findings suggest that body image distortion can lead preadolescents to develop stress about obesity and unhealthy dieting practices, despite similar obesity indices to those without distorted body images. These results emphasize the importance of having an undistorted body image.

• 한국생활과학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2010.05a
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• pp.166-167
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• 2010

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.113-122
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• 2004

The purpose of this study was to examine and understand body image, appearance behaviors, and eating disturbances among females in the Diet Center. Subjects for this research were 40 females enrolled at the Diet Center in Seoul. They were interviewed for this study using an interview schedule at September in 2004. As a result, most of the subjects (87%) were dissatisfied with their bodies, especially their lower body such as hip, thighs, legs, stomach. Subjects tended to use dieting and fasting (46.3%) as the most common appearance management behaviors in relation to the body parts. Make-up (32.9%) was also used as routine appearance behaviors, while 37.5% of subjects have had cosmetic surgery on eyes, nose and liposuction. Sixty percent of subjects had participated in Diet center programs more than twice. This may mean that society pressures women to have a slim body, which then will result in more self-confidence. Subjects tend to engage in unhealthy eating behaviors, such as 'fasting', 'inducing vomit', 'using diet pills or laxatives', and 'after chewing, spit out'. Based on these results, socio-cultural body image regarding ideal beauty would be discussed.

• Journal of the East Asian Society of Dietary Life
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.327-338
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to obtain information from married women regarding obesity-related factors and psychological eating behaviors, and to compare those variables among three groups, namely underweight, normal, and obese. The participants completed questionnaires regarding general obesity-related factors, major food servings/day, physical activity, dieting behaviors, perceptions of body image, and psychological eating behaviors. The results were as follows: The obese women reported a higher percentage of family history of obesity (74.8%) than the normal (43.5%) or underweight (28.2%) women. Most of the obese women (90.0%) accurately perceived their body image compared to 72.5% of the underweight and 56.6% of the normal weight women(p<0.001). No significant differences were found among the three groups for daily hours of exercise or computer use. In the case of hours of television watched daily, significant differences were found among the groups (obese 104 min/day, normal 87 min/day, underweight 76/min, p<0.05). Only 17.9% of the obese women reported eating 2 servings of milk products/day and only 23.2% of them reported eating 3 servings of protein foods/day as compared to the normal (25.4%, 18.0%) and underweight (29.4%, 41.7%) (p<0.01) women. About 98% of the obese and 78.5% of the normal weight women wanted to loose weight compared to only 10% of the underweight women (p<0.001). Psychological eating behavior was significantly correlated with subject BMI ($r^2$=0.32, p<0.01). Also, more obese women were unsatisfied with their body and had emotional eating behaviors as compared to the normal and underweight women, and this was statistically significant (p<0.001). In conclusion, the obese women had high perception rates of their body image, but had negative-psychological eating behaviors. Special behavior therapy is needed for obese women who show body dissatisfaction, emotional eating behaviors, long hours of daily TV viewing, and low intakes of protein and milk products.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.155-175
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• 1998

The purpose of this study was to test a reliability and validity of the Korean version of Eating Attitudes Test-26(KEAT-26). Using multi-stage sampling, we finally got 3,496 subjects(1422 males and 2074 females) who were available for analysis from target 4,400 Korean adults over 18 in the nationwide areas of9 kus, 10 middle or small cities, and 17 kuns. We tried to make T score norm of the KEAT-26 as a cutoff score and STEN score norm as a index of severity for disordered eating behaviors. For the male group, Cronhach's internal consistency was .83 and Spearman-Brown split half correlation coefficiency was .75. For the female group, each of them was .81 and .75, and .81, .75 for the grand total group respectively. Validity test was performed by construct validation analysis. By a iterated principal axis factoring, 4 factors were extracted. There were some differences in the factors of the KEAT-26 by sex. In the male group, factor I was 'self-control of eating and bulimic symptom', factor II was 'food preoccupation and dieting', factor III was 'preoccupation with being thinner', factor N was 'avoidance of sweet foods'. In contrast with the male group, factor I was 'self-control of eating and bulimic symptom', factor II was 'preoccupation with being thinner', factor III was 'food preoccupation' and factor N was 'dieting' in the female group. We used T score 65 as a cutoff score. T score 65 corresponded to raw score 19 in the male group, 22 in the female group and 21 in the grand total group. Severity of disordered eating behaviors was measured by a STEN score. In the male group, each of the score range of 0-10, 11-14, 15-18, 19-22 and over 23 represented the degree of none, subclinical, manifest, moderate and severe severity respectively. Each of the score range of 0-13, 14-17, 18-21, 22-26 and over 27 in the female group, and the score range of 0-12, 13-16, 17-20, 21-25 and over 26 in the grand total group also represented the same degree of severity as like in the male group. These results support that KEAT-26 is a reliable and valid scale for evaluating disordered eating behaviors and eating problems.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.374-382
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• 2009

Young adults are likely to start a new life style which may cause weight gain or obesity since leaving their parents for higher education or university. Whilst young people are slim in general, it is common to see them trying to manage their weight. Few studies have been carried out in Korea to support those changes in lifestyle that can result in weight gain in early adulthood. This study aims to identify prevalence of dieting as well as factors inducing weight gain among university students under unrestricted living conditions. A total of 99 university students were enrolled and asked to complete a questionnaire over a 3-day study period from June to September, 2008. T-test and $X^2$-test were applied to compare each behavior between weight gainers and maintainers. Logistic regression was also used for further analysis. Half of the participants used 'eat less' and 'exercise' as a way of dieting, and weight gainers tried to control their weight significantly more than weight maintainers. Most participants were engaged in very little exercise and were more likely to watch TV and use a computer. The time of lunch was proven as the only factor to predict weight change in the participants. As a result of this study, an intervention to promote exercise with friends or as a group is required to makeup for the lack of exercise among young adults. Further studies are also necessary to investigate how each meal time a day relates to the amount of food eaten. (Korean J Community Nutrition 14(4) : $374{\sim}382$, 2009)

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.301-309
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• 2013

This study was designed to provide fundamental data on the consumption of fast food for a balanced diet of university students. The effects of personal characteristics and preferences such as gender, major, residing region, living expense, school grade, dieting, physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption on fast food consumption patterns were analyzed by surveying university students. The analysis showed significant differences (p<0.05) in the consumption of different types of fast food depending on different personal characteristics and preferences as follows : hamburger by major, physical activity and alcohol consumption; chicken by school grade, physical activity and alcohol consumption; spaghetti by gender and smoking. Groups of different majors and school grades showed significant differences (p<0.05) in response to a question "Have you ever eaten fast food for regular meals?". The choice of fast food types based on taste and price appeared to be significantly influenced by majors and gender. Different groups with different majors and dieting experience appeared to think significantly differently about fast food. In response to a question "Has the consumption of fast food changed your diet style" different groups of different majors and physical activities showed significant differences. The analysis of factors affecting fast food choices revealed that fast food is chosen significantly differently depending on gender and majors (p<0.05). The purchase of fast food appeared to be significantly affected by gender, diet, physical activity, experience of fast food and consumption of fast food for regular meals (p<0.05).