Weight perceptions, weight management practices, and nutritional status of emerging adults living in the Accra Metropolis

Esi Yaabah Quaidoo; Agartha Ohemeng; Margaret Amankwah-Poku

doi:10.1186/s40795-018-0265-4

Weight perceptions, weight management practices, and nutritional status of emerging adults living in the Accra Metropolis

BMC Nutr. 2018 Dec 27:4:53. doi: 10.1186/s40795-018-0265-4. eCollection 2018.

Authors

Esi Yaabah Quaidoo¹, Agartha Ohemeng¹, Margaret Amankwah-Poku²

Affiliations

¹ 1Department of Nutrition and Food Science, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.
² 2Department of Psychology, College of Humanities, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana.

Abstract

Background: Many young people have a tendency to be concerned about their physical appearance and undertake practices in order to achieve certain body ideals. There is however limited information from developing countries on the weight perceptions of emerging adults (i.e. individuals leaving the adolescence life stage and preparing to take on adulthood) and whether these opinions influence their nutritional status and weight management practices. This study sought to assess emerging adults' nutritional status, their weight perceptions and the methods they use to manage their weight.

Methods: This study was cross-sectional, involving emerging adults (N = 192) recruited at shopping areas in the Accra Metropolis of Ghana. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect information on demographic characteristics, weight perceptions, and weight management strategies. Anthropometric measurements were taken using standard procedures. Descriptive analysis was performed on the demographic data, methods used to manage weight, and weight perceptions. Logistic regression was used to assess possible relationships between weight perceptions and nutritional status as well as weight perceptions and weight management practices.

Results: The mean age of participants was 21.8(2.2) years with 51.0% of participants being female. Majority of the participants perceived normal weight status as the ideal body for themselves and half of them thought that they were slimmer than they actually were in reality. Three major weight management strategies were identified: engaging in physical activity, dieting and making lifestyle modifications (i.e. changes in normal eating habits coupled with regular physical activity and behavioral changes). Emerging adults who had an inaccurate body image perception were less likely (OR = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.15-0.61) to have a healthy nutritional status than emerging adults who had an accurate body image perception.

Conclusion: Weight perception was associated with nutritional status. Discussions with nutrition professionals regarding realistic weight ideals would be beneficial for this age-group since half of the study's participants had inaccurate perceptions about their current weight statuses even though their statuses were normal.

Keywords: Emerging adults; Managing weight; Nutritional behaviours; Nutritional status; Weight perceptions.