2013 Volume 68 Issue 3 Pages 197-206
Objective: This study was aimed at clarifying the experience of weight loss and its related factors of thin females who still wished to lose weight among junior high school students.
Methods: The subjects were 1,302 males and females in the second and third grades in 17 junior high schools in A area in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The anonymous self-administered questionnaire included items on attributes, items relevant to weight loss, lifestyle, subjective symptoms, and items relevant to stress. A logistic regression analysis (likelihood ratio) was used with the question items showing a statistically significant difference when comparing the two groups as independent variables to identify the factors related to the experience of weight loss.
Results: There were 1,168 respondents (response rate, 89.7%). Eighty females who were less than -10% of the standard for obesity, but who still wished to lose weight, were selected from among 544 females. They were divided into two groups: those who had experienced losing weight (N=31, dieting group) and those who had never experienced losing weight (N=49, nondieting group). Between the two groups, there was a statistically significant difference in eight question items. The logistic regression analysis showed that believing oneself to be heavy by self-assessment, going to bed after midnight, and a short attention span were factors related to the experience of losing weight.
Conclusion: Forty percent of the thin females who still wished to lose weight experienced weight loss. Distortion in the self-assessment of one’s figure, inappropriate lifestyle, and subjective symptoms were designated as related factors.
