Study on the relationship between mental health and overweight, obesity, different sex among junior middle school students / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To examine the relationships between overweight, obesity and indices as satisfaction of life, trait anxiety, depression, self concept etc. in male and female junior middle school students.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A questionnaire survey was administered to 1818 participants in a middle school in Hefei city, Anhui province. This contents of survey would include Multidimensional Students' Life Satisfaction Scale (MSLSS), Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), Trait Anxiety Inventory (TAI), and Piers-Harris Children's Self Concept Scale (PHSCS). Anthropometric measures were taken together with the calculation of body mass index (BMI). The students were divided into normal-weight, overweight and obesity groups by BMI separate criteria. Gender differences of mental health status and group differences of mental health among normal-weight, overweight obesity students were analyzed. Relationships between BMI and the scores of MSLSS, CES-D, TAI, PHSCS were estimated among boys and girls respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The prevalence rates of overweight and obesity of boys (21.5%, 7.7%) were significantly higher than in girls (8.0%, 2.8%). Difference of the MSLSS scores in gender was significant among normal-weight group (P = 0.002). The difference of the CES-D scores in gender was significant among overweight group (P = 0.046). There were significant group differences of the CES-D scores, TAI scores, and PHSCS scores among normal-weight, overweight and obese girls (P < 0.05). Both the CES-D score and TAI score of obese girls were higher than normal-weight girls (P = 0.012 and P = 0.035). The PHSCS score of obese girls was lower than normal-weight girls (P = 0.014) and the group difference of the CES-D score was also significant between overweight and normal-weight girls (P = 0.025).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Both prevalence rates of overweight and obesity of boys were higher than that in girls. Nevertheless, level of mental health level among girls with overweight and obesity were lower than that in boys.</p>

Study on the relations between psycho-behaviors and weight control in adolescents / 中华流行病学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To describe the different sex, age and grade distribution of coping behavior and its psychological effects on weight, and to analyze the correlation between overweight, obesity and unhealthy psycho-behaviors related to weight control in adolescents.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A survey was conducted among students of grade 1 and grade 2 at a junior middle school in Hefei. Students completed the anonymous. questionnaire including the demographic characteristics of adolescents and parents, self-assessed weight status and adolescents' psycho-behaviors related to weight control. Anthropometric measures were taken together with body mass index (BMI) calculated. Students were divided into obesity,overweight and control groups by BMI separate criteria and by self reporting, respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Among all the students, 17.4% reported having unhealthy psychological feelings related to weight control including 3.8% reported having unhealthy behaviors related to weight control and 19.1% of them reported having unhealthy psycho-behaviors related to weight control. The rates of unhealthy psychological feelings, unhealthy behaviors and total unhealthy psycho-behaviors related to weight control among girls (20.6%, 4.3%, 22.6%) were all higher than those among boys (14.5%, 3.3%, 15.8%) (P < 0.05). The rates of unhealthy psychological feelings, unhealthy behaviors and total unhealthy psycho-behaviors related to weight control in obese individuals both assessed by BMI and assessed by self reporting appeared to be the highest (P < 0.05). In addition,data showed that obesity and overweight assessed both by BMI separate criteria and by self-reporting appeared positive correlations with the rates of unhealthy psycho-behaviors related to weight control. Moreover, the relationship between obesity or overweight assessed by the two methods and unhealthy psycho-behaviors related to weight control did not alter by other factors.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Unhealthy psycho-behaviors related to weight control of girls are more severe than boys. The relationship between obesity and unhealthy psychological feelings and behaviors related to weight control does not alter by other factors such as social factors.</p>