Body weight misperception and psychological distress among young South Korean adults: the role of physical activity

Eun-Young Lee; Maxine Myre; Jongnam Hwang; Heeran Chun; Eunchul Seo; Roman Pabayo; John C Spence

doi:10.1186/s41256-017-0036-9

Body weight misperception and psychological distress among young South Korean adults: the role of physical activity

Glob Health Res Policy. 2017 Jun 5:2:17. doi: 10.1186/s41256-017-0036-9. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Eun-Young Lee¹, Maxine Myre¹, Jongnam Hwang², Heeran Chun³, Eunchul Seo⁴, Roman Pabayo^{5

6}, John C Spence¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, 1-149 Van Vliet Complex, Edmonton, AB Canada.
² Department of Health Promotion, Daegu University, Daegu, South Korea.
³ College of Health Sciences, Jungwon University, Geosan, Chung-buk South Korea.
⁴ Department of Sport Science, Dankook University, Cheonan, South Korea.
⁵ School of Community and Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, NV USA.
⁶ Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Boston, MA USA.

Abstract

Background: Emerging evidence suggests that body weight misperception may be associated with psychological distress among people in developed countries. Participating in physical activity (PA) may negate the association between weight misperception and psychological distress given the well-known benefits of PA on psychological health. This study examined the role of PA in associations between body weight misperception and psychological distress among young South Korean adults.

Methods: Data from individuals aged 20 to 39 years who participated in the Fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2010-2012 (N = 6055) was included in the logistic regressions.

Results: The proportions of the respondents under- and over-perceiving their body weight were 66.9% and 0.8% among men and 16.3% and 15.6% among women respectively. A moderating effect of PA participation was observed on the relationship between body weight over-perception and depressed mood (Odds Ratio [OR] = 0.55; 95% Confidence Intervals [95% CI] = 0.34, 0.89). Among individuals who did not meet the recommended vigorous-intensity PA (≥ 20 min/session and ≥ 3 day/week), body weight over-perception was associated with depressed mood (OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.19, 2.46) compared to the accurate-perception group. However, no association was observed among those who met the recommended vigorous-intensity PA (OR = 1.52, 95% CI = 0.45, 5.22). Similar patterns were found among physically active versus inactive individuals (recommended walking not met: OR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.29, 3.15; recommended walking met: OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 0.66, 2.49; muscular strengthening exercises for < 2 day/week: OR = 1.74, 95% CI = 1.21, 2.51; muscular strengthening exercises for ≥ 2 day/week: OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 0.37, 5.14). No relationship existed between body weight over-perception and depressed mood after adjusting for PA.

Conclusions: Participating in regular PA may buffer a potential negative impact of body weight over-perception on depressive mood.

Keywords: Body weight; Depression; KNHANES; Physical inactivity; Stress; Suicidal ideation.