Association between weight perception and psychological distress.
1Exercise, Health and Performance Faculty Research Group, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. E.Atlantis@usyd.edu.au
International Journal of Obesity (2005)
|April 15, 2008
Summary
Perceiving oneself as overweight or underweight significantly increases psychological distress. Actual weight status or misperceptions of weight did not show this association in the study.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Obesity is linked to cardiovascular disease but its effect on depressive symptoms is unclear.
- Depressive symptoms may be more prevalent in individuals who perceive themselves as overweight.
- This study investigated the independent association between weight status, weight perceptions, and psychological distress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if weight status and weight perceptions are independently associated with psychological distress.
- To analyze the relationship between perceived weight categories and psychological distress.
- To examine the impact of weight misperception on psychological distress.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study utilizing data from the Australian National Health Survey 2004-2005 (N=17,253).
- Self-reported data on weight status, weight perception, and psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale - K10).
- Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analysis to calculate odds ratios for medium and high psychological distress.
Main Results:
- Perceiving oneself as overweight or underweight was associated with increased odds of medium (40-50%) and high (50-120%) psychological distress.
- Weight status (underweight, overweight, obesity) was not significantly associated with psychological distress after adjustments.
- Weight misperception (incorrectly assessing weight status) was not linked to psychological distress in the adjusted analysis.
Conclusions:
- Weight perception, not weight status or misperception, is a significant risk factor for psychological distress.
- The effects of weight perception on psychological distress appear consistent across genders.
- Further prospective research is needed to establish causality and evaluate interventions for weight perception-related distress.
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