TY - THES TY - BOOK T1 - Overweight and normal-weight female adolescents: comparison of body image, dietary practice and physical activity A1 - Chin, Yit Siew. LA - English UL - http://discoverylib.upm.edu.my/discovery/Record/223290 AB - This cross-sectional comparative study was conducted to compare body image, dietary practice and physical activity between overweight (OW) and normal-weight (NW) female adolescents. Through an anthropometric measurement screening of 792 female adolescents from three selected secondary schools in Kuantan, Pahang, the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 13.4% and 5.7% respectively. Of the overweight and obese subjects screened, 100 of them were selected and matched for age, ethnicity and pubertal status with 100 NW subjects to be included in this study. The subjects for this study comprised 68.0% Malays, 23.0% Chinese and 9.0% Indians. The mean age fir both groups was 13.51 +/- 0.50 years and almost all of the subjects (97.0%) have achieved menarche. There were no significant differences in socio-demographic factors, except for household size between the two groups. The findings showed that there were significant differents in body image (perception of body size and body parts satisfaction), dietary intake (total daily energy intake, carbohydrate and protein percentages in total energy intake), physical activity (total energy expenditure and physical activity level) and energy balance between OW and NW subjects. Using the Contour Drawing Rating Scale, which compared perceptions of current with ideal body size, the mean discrepancy score for OW subjects was -2.60 +/- 1.07 compared to -0.18 +/- 1.06 for NW subjects. This showed that OW subjects have a greater body size discrepancy; all of them desired a smaller ideal body size and wished to reduce their weight. Most of the OW subjects were also dissatisfied with their overall body parts, compared to the NW subjects (86.0% vs. 43.0%). Most OW subjects (85.0%) had a negative energy balance and expended more energy (2368.47 +/- 510.38kcal) than they consumed daily (1590.94 +/- 644.06kcal) whereas most NW subjects (66.0%) had a positive energy balance spending less (1583.44 +/- 222.63kcal) than consumed (1811.04 +/- 605.91kcal). Conversely, no significant differences were found in weight management knowledge level, perception of body weigth status, eating attitude and behavior, dietary fiber intake and protein percentage in total daily energy intake between OW and NW subjects. Although these subjects (OW : 82.0%; NW: 77.0%) claimed that they have received information and knowledge on weight management, a majority (OW : 58.0%; NW: 54.0%) had a low level of weight management knowledge. There were 38.0% of NW and 33.0% of OW subjects had an incorrect perception of weight status. Using Eating Attitude Test-26 (EAT-26), 28.0% of NW and 18.0% of OW subjects were more prone to eating disorder. In short, OW subjects were more likely to be engaged in weight loss practices, such as dieting, binging and purging, preoccupied with food as well as expending more than consuming energy compared to the NW subjects. Future intervention and prevention programs for female adolescents should focus on correcting body image perception, healthy dietary practices and active lifestyle. CN - FPSK3 2005 21 ER -