Body Image and Strategies of Female College Students and Middle Aged Women to Reduce Their Weight

概要

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Many investigators have shown that young women desire to reduce their body weight (BMI) for the purpose of "looking more attractive" . Almost all of them are interested in the strategies to reduce their weight. This investigation was performed to examine the body image and experiences of socalled "diet behaviors" (strategies to reduce weight) in middle aged women by the questionnaire method. The results were compared to those of female college students (middle aged women's daughters). The study involved 502 female students (18.7±0.8y.o.) and 473 middle aged women (47.2±34 y. o.). The subjects of each group were divided into three subgroups by the new obesity criteria of the Japan Society for the Study of Obesity. Except for both obese subgroups, a number of subjects had an inadequate body image, expecially in the student group.Compared to the present BMI (students group;20.8±2.1, middle aged women group;22.3±2.4), the ideal BMI of almost all the subjects is low except for the under weight subgroup of the middle aged women. Two-thirds of the students and one-third of the middle aged women have tried to reduce their weight by methods such as exercise, reducing meals, using special foods and so on. At present, almost half of the subjects desire to lose weight by some strategies, the socalled "diet behaviors" .Although the students desire it "to look more attractive", the middle aged women desire it "to be healthier" .
日本食生活学会の論文