Siriporn Meunsom. Factors related to self-weight control behaviors among adolescent students in Bangkok . Master's Degree(Public Health Nursing). Mahidol University. : Mahidol University, 2003.
Factors related to self-weight control behaviors among adolescent students in Bangkok
Abstract:
Obesity is one of the most important health problems among adolescent students. It affects physical and psycho social well-being. Most adolescent students are always concerned about their body weight and body image, and often assume that they are overweight. Most adolescent students have a tendency to have unhealthy weight control. Therefore, healthy self-weight control behaviors among adolescent students should be promoted. This study aimed to examine the factors which had influences on self-weight control behaviors of adolescent students in Bangkok. Descriptive design and stratified random sampling were used to recruit 400 subjects who were studying in Certificate and Diploma program at three colleges under the Department of Vocational Education in Bangkok Metropolis, Ministry of Education. Data including demographic characteristics, self-weight control behaviors, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, perceived self-efficacy, interpersonal influences and situational influences were collected using a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and step wise multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that mean scores of perceived benefits, perceived barriers,perceived self-efficacy, interpersonal influences, situational influences, and self-weight control behaviors were at a low level. Most students perceived themselves as fat and perceived their body image at a poor level, while 52.5 percent adolescent students had normal body mass index and 42.3 percent were underweight. Weight control techniques mostly used by adolescent students were skipping eating supper or breakfast, taking laxatives, taking diet beverages, reducing the amount of food intake at each meal, and taking weight reduction pills. The results of step wise multiple regression analysis indicated that perceived self-efficacy, perceived barriers, interpersonal influences, and gender were able to predict 26.2 percent of variance in self-weight control behaviors. The findings suggest that public health nurses should advise students on how to reduce barriers of self-weight control and encourage self-efficacy of body weight control to promote self-weight control behaviors.