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Table 3 Differences in weight-related concerns and weight-control behaviors, by gender and school type; Delhi, India; 2006 (n = 300 overweight or obese students only).

From: Weight-related concerns and weight-control behaviors among overweight adolescents in Delhi, India: A cross-sectional study

 

Overweight or obese (n = 300)1

 

Girls (n = 107)

Boys (n = 193)

 

Private (n = 265)

Government (n = 35)

 
 

Percent

(95% CI)

Percent

(95%CI)

p-value2

Percent

(95% CI)

Percent

(95%CI)

p-value2

Weight-related concerns

          

   Importance of weight control3

          

Important

95.5

(88.5 - 98.3)

91.6

(84.7 - 95.5)

0.212

92.8

(87.0 - 96.1)

94.0

(78.6 - 98.5)

0.804

Not important

4.5

(1.7 - 11.5)

8.4

(4.5 - 15.3)

0.212

7.2

(3.9 - 13.0)

6.0

(1.5 - 21.5)

0.804

   Perceived weight status4

          

Overweight

66.7

(53.2 - 77.9)

54.2

(42.1 - 65.8)

0.047

64.4

(53.7 - 73.9)

43.3

(25.9 - 62.0)

0.054

About the right weight

17.1

(11.1 - 25.6)

29.4

(23.3 - 36.3)

0.022

24.1

(19.3 - 29.7)

31.4

(18.3 - 48.3)

0.351

Underweight

13.9

(5.8 - 29.6)

12.2

(5.4 - 25.4)

0.690

8.8

(3.6 - 20.0)

23.8

(9.2 - 49.2)

0.113

   Body satisfaction5

          

Low

62.6

(51.0 - 72.9)

50.4

(40.9 - 59.9)

0.052

57.4

(48.1 - 66.1)

45.1

(28.4 - 62.9)

0.237

Moderate

23.5

(16.3 - 32.7)

23.8

(18.2 - 30.4)

0.961

25.4

(20.4 - 31.1)

11.4

(4.4 - 26.8)

0.078

High

16.2

(7.7 - 31.0)

28.7

(16.6 - 44.9)

0.036

16.3

(9.8 - 25.8)

43.2

(25.0 - 63.4)

0.008

Weight-control behaviors

          

   Tried to lose weight in the last year 6

78.4

(68.5 - 85.9)

68.7

(61.1 - 77.1)

0.110

72.7

(64.8 - 79.4

73.7

(55.6 - 86.2)

0.913

   Healthy behaviors (at least one)7

97.2

(90.8 - 99.2)

90.7

(80.8 - 95.7)

0.024

91.3

(84.1 - 95.4)

97.3

(82.2 - 99.6)

0.258

Exercised more

85.3

(75.5 - 91.7)

74.3

(65.4 - 81.6)

0.031

76.8

(71.3 - 81.6)

82.4

(65.9 - 91.9)

0.471

Ate less sweets

82.3

(72.0 - 89.3)

60.3

(50.6 - 69.3)

<0.001

65.5

(59.5 - 71.1)

78.8

(61.7 - 89.5)

0.132

Ate less high fat foods

70.2

(60.6 - 78.4)

59.1

(51.6 - 66.3)

0.060

63.9

(56.9 - 70.3)

58.8

(41.7 - 74.0)

0.577

Ate more fruits and vegetables

75.8

(64.7 - 84.2)

61.9

(51.9 - 71.1)

0.018

69.2

(59.0 - 77.9)

58.5

(39.5 - 75.3)

0.306

   Unhealthy behaviors (at least one)7

84.2

(75.9 - 89.9)

67.4

(60.4 - 73.6)

0.002

72.5

(66.8 - 77.5)

80.0

(63.6 - 90.2)

0.346

Fasted

43.6

(26.6 - 62.2)

30.3

(17.7 - 46.7)

0.037

32.2

(15.6 - 55.0)

39.6

(14.5 - 71.7)

0.703

Skipped meals

39.6

(30.6 - 49.4)

32.4

(26.1 - 39.5)

0.224

36.1

(30.4 - 42.2)

26.5

(14.4 - 43.5)

0.273

Ate very little food

64.4

(54.8 - 73.0)

49.5

(42.3 - 56.6)

0.015

52.4

(46.2 - 58.4)

73.5

(56.5 - 85.6)

0.023

Used food substitute

17.5

(11.3 - 26.0)

15.0

(10.5 - 20.8)

0.577

16.8

(12.7 - 21.9)

8.8

(2.9 - 24.0)

0.241

Took diet pills

15.4

(9.5 - 24.2)

19.7

(14.2 - 26.6)

0.371

18.3

(13.6 - 24.1)

17.4

(7.8 - 34.5)

0.908

Made myself vomit

7.1

(2.7 - 17.4)

11.4

(5.26 - 23.1)

0.216

9.9

(4.3 - 21.1)

9.9

(2.2 - 34.7)

0.998

  1. 1 Weight status determined using age- and gender-specific cut-points from WHO [10].
  2. 2 Test for differences performed using mixed-effects regression models, with school specified as a random effect [12]. Models were unadjusted.
  3. 3 Importance of weight control was measured with one item, "How important is controlling your weight (a) very important, (b) important, (c) not important, (d) not at all important?" The responses were collapsed into two categories: (1) important ("very important," "important") and (2) not important ("not important," "not at all important") [11].
  4. 4 Perceived weight status was measured by a single question, "At this time, do you feel that you are (a) very underweight, (b) somewhat underweight, (c) about the right weight, (d) somewhat overweight, or (e) very overweight?" The responses were collapsed to create three categories: (1) underweight ("very underweight" and "somewhat underweight"), (2) the right weight ("about the right weight"), and (3) overweight ("somewhat overweight" and "very overweight") [11].
  5. 5 Perceived body satisfaction was measured using a modified version of the Body Satisfaction Scale, which included five items assessing one's satisfaction with different parts of their body (i.e., height, weight, body shape, waist, hips) using a Likert scale that ranged from "not at all satisfied" to "very satisfied." Responses to these questions were summed and categorized as low, moderate, and high based on distributions within this study population, with one third of the population in each category [11].
  6. 6 Students who responded "yes" to "In the past year, have you done anything to try to lose weight or avoid gaining weight ... (a) yes, (b) no?" [11].
  7. 7 Students who responded "yes" to "During the past one year, have you done any of the following things in order to lose weight or avoid gaining weight ... [behaviors] ... (a) yes, (b) no?" [11].
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International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

ISSN: 1479-5868

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