SELF-PERCEPTION OF BODY WEIGHT AMONG SECONDARY STUDENTS IN CHIANG MAI, THAILAND

Self-perception of body weight and other weight-related factors were assessed among 2,519 Chiang Mai Province, Thailand high school students. A high percentage of the girls (57.6%) and boys (29.0%) reported that they were too fat and these percentages were higher than those reported by U.S. students in a recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Yet, in comparison to U.S. students, the Thai students were less likely than their U.S. counterparts to engage in weight management practices (e.g., dieting, eating less food, using diet pills). Thai students with a self-perception of being too fat were more likely than those with perceptions of being just right or too thin to engage in weight management practices, to be dissatisfied with their weight, feel that they were unattractive, estimate that their same-sex peers were trying to lose weight, and have a higher body mass index. The findings showed a relationship between self-perception of body size and engaging in weight control behaviors consistent with other research. It suggested that self-perception of body weight, more so than objective weight status, was predictive of weight loss behavior and also negative psychological outcomes associated with poor body weight image. As a result, self-perception of weight may be an important point of focus for the design and implementation of clinical and public health initiatives and health education interventions targeted at this adolescent population.