Perception, Intention, and Action in Adolescent Obesity

Article Figures & Data

Table 1.

Demographic Characteristics of Delaware Youth Risk Behavior Survey Population: General Population, Obese Group, and Overweight Group

	Obese^* (n = 398)		Overweight^† (n = 482)
	n^‡	%	n^‡	%
Age (years)
14 and younger	65	16.3	73	15.1
15	109	27.4	106	22
16	113	28.4	133	27.6
17	78	19.6	117	24.3
18 or older	33	8.3	53	11
Sex/gender
Male	245	61.6	244	50.6
Female	153	38.4	238	49.4
Race/ethnicity
White	221	55.9	253	52.9
Black	113	28.6	153	32
Hispanic	30	7.6	38	7.9
Asian	7	1.8	16	3.3
Native/Alaskan	19	4.8	14	2.9
Hawaiian	5	1.3	4	0.8
Diet modification^§	242	60.9	243	50.5
Exercise modification^§	292	73.4	351	72.8
Diet and/or exercise	329	82.6	380	78.9
Accurate perception of weight^‖	326	81.8	261	54.2
Intention to change weight^¶	300	75.3	314	65.2

* BMI for age is greater than or equal to the 95th percentile for gender.
† BMI is greater than or equal to the 85th and less than the 95th percentile for gender.
‡ 95% confidence interval.
§ Individuals who indicated that they changed what they ate or exercised more respectively in the last 30 days in an attempt to lose weight.
‖ Individuals who classified themselves as either “slightly overweight” or “very overweight.”
¶ Individuals who answered “lose weight” when asked “What are you trying to do about your weight?”

Table 2.

Factors Associated with Recent Action to Lose Weight in Obese and Overweight Adolescents

† Obese refers to BMI greater than or equal to the 95th percentile. Overweight refers to BMI greater than or equal to the 85th percentile and less than the 95th percentile. The comparisons for age were by year. The comparison for race was white.
* 95% confidence interval.
‡ Individuals who classified themselves as either “slightly overweight” or “very overweight.”
§ Individuals who answered “lose weight” when asked “What are you trying to do about your weight?”
‖ P ≤ .01.
¶ P ≤ .05.