Abstract
Background
Concurrent with the dramatic cultural and economic shifts occurring as mainland China
becomes increasingly “Westernized,” the weight perceptions, ideal body weight, and
weight management goals and practices of Chinese females have also undergone significant
changes.
Objective
To investigate relationships between overweight status, weight perception patterns,
and weight management goals and practices in Chinese female college students.
Design/participants/setting
A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with data from 902 female subjects aged 18
to 25 years participating in the China Seven Cities Study, a health promotion and
smoking prevention study conducted in mainland China in 2003.
Main outcome measures/statistical analyses
Logistic regression models were used to explore associations between overweight status,
weight perception, specific weight management goals and practices, and current levels
of vigorous-intensity physical activity and food consumption.
Results
Based on World Health Organization standards for Asian adults, 16.7% of college females
were overweight or obese, although 50.8% considered themselves to be “too heavy.”
Among participants perceiving themselves as overweight (n=458), 69.2% (n=371) were
inaccurate and did not meet criteria for overweight or obese. The percentage of participants
attempting weight loss was 48.2%, and 33.1% wanted to maintain their current weight.
Attempts to lose or maintain weight were related to actual and perceived weight status,
but not to increased vigorous-intensity physical activity or fruit and vegetable intake,
nor to decreased consumption of sweets, soda, Western fast foods, and fried foods.
Only 21.5% of participants desiring weight loss or maintenance reported using a combination
of vigorous-intensity physical activity and a reduced-fat and -calorie diet, whereas
20.2% tried extreme methods such as fasting, using diet pills, vomiting, or smoking.
Conclusions
Our findings underscore the need to promote healthy weight management practices among
Chinese female college students, with an emphasis on diet and physical activity strategies
that encourage balance rather than extremes.
Keywords
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Biography
H. C. Tanenbaum is a PhD student, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
Biography
J. Q. Felicitas is a PhD student, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
Biography
P. H. Palmer is an associate professor, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
Biography
K. D. Reynolds is a professor, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
Biography
C. Anderson Johnson is a professor, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
Biography
B. Xie is an associate professor, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
Biography
Y. Li is an assistant professor, School of Social Work, San Diego State University, CA.
Biography
M. Tobias is a research assistant, UCSD Moores Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA; at the time of the study, she was an MPH student, School of Community and Global Health, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA.
Biography
C.-P. Chou is a professor, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Biography
D. Spruijt-Metz is an adjunct associate professor, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 07, 2015
Accepted:
June 26,
2015
Received:
August 15,
2014
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT The data used in this manuscript were originally collected as part of the China Seven Cities Study, which was supported by the University of Southern California Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC), funded by the National Institutes of Health (grant #1 P50 CA84735-01), and the Sidney R. Garfield Endowment. The preparation of this manuscript was partially supported by a research grant from the National Institutes of Health (1 R03 CA172985-01).
Identification
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© 2016 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
