Original scientific paper
Body Image and Weight Control among Adolescents in Lithuania, Croatia, and the United States in the Context of Global Obesity
Apolinaras Zaborskis
; Institut for Biomedical Research, Kanuas, Lithuania
Gintare Petronyte
; Institut for Biomedical Research, Kanuas, Lithuania
Linas Sumskas
; Institut for Biomedical Research, Kanuas, Lithuania
Marina Kuzman
; Croatian National Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia
Ronald J. Iannotti
; National Institute of Human Development, Bethesda, MD, USA
Abstract
Aim To compare body image and weight control behavior among adolescents
in Lithuania, Croatia, and the United States (US), the countries
with striking contrasts in the prevalence of overweight among adolescents.
Method The study was carried out according to the methodology of the
Health Behavior in School-aged Children collaborative survey. Nationally-
representative samples of students, aged 13 and 15, were surveyed in
Lithuania (3778 respondents), Croatia (2946 respondents), and the US
(3546 respondents) in the 2001/2002 school year.
Results In all three countries, girls perceived themselves as being “too
fat” more frequently than boys (37.0% vs 19.7%, P<0.001, z test). The
prevalence of this perception increased with age among girls (32.7% vs
41.1%, P<0.001, z test) and decreased among boys (21.4% vs 17.9%,
P = 0.005, z test). Lithuanian adolescents were least likely to perceive
themselves as “too fat;” this perception was significantly more frequent
in Croatia and the US (24.2%, 27.5%, and 34.3%, respectively; P<0.001,
χ2 test). With the exception of 15-year-old Lithuanian boys, in all respondents
the proportion of adolescents with body mass index (BMI) ≥85th
percentile who perceived themselves as “too fat” was significantly higher
(up to 3.13 times among 15-year-old US girls) than the proportion of
adolescents with BMI ≤15th percentile who perceived themselves as “too
thin.” The highest proportion of overweight boys and girls on a diet or
doing something else to lose weight was found in the US. Boys in Lithuania
were most likely to be satisfied with their weight regardless of their
weight status.
Conclusion Perceived body image and weight control behavior differ
among adolescents in Lithuania, Croatia, and the US. Cross-cultural,
age, and sex influences moderate body image and weight control behavior
in underweight and overweight adolescents.
Keywords
adolescents; body image; weight control; body mass index; overweight; obesity
Hrčak ID:
27241
URI
Publication date:
15.4.2008.
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