Gudum, H.R

Ho, HL

Kuan, PX

Shuhaili, MS

Siti, AA

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Gender Differences in BMI, Body Weight Perception& Weight Loss Strategies among Undergraduates 67Mal J Nutr  17(1): 67 - 75, 2011Gender Differences in Body Mass Index, Body WeightPerception and Weight Loss Strategies amongUndergraduates in Universiti Malaysia SarawakKuan PX 1*, Ho HL 1, Shuhaili MS1, Siti AA1 & Gudum HR21 Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak2 Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia SarawakABSTRACTIntroduction: This study was carried out among undergraduate students inUniversiti Malaysia Sarawak with the objective of examining gender differencesin body mass index (BMI), body weight perception, eating attitudes and weight-loss strategies. Methods: Subjects consisted of 600 undergraduates (300 malesand 300 females) recruited from the various faculties between September 2008until mid-November 2008. The Original Figure Rating Scale: Body WeightPerception, Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and Eating Attitudes Test-26 (EAT-26) were used as assessment tools. Results: Overall, 52.8% of students had normalBMI, with approximately an equal number of both sexes. More males than femaleswere overweight (33.7%), while more females were underweight (25.3%). Maleswere more likely to perceive themselves as overweight, and fail to see themselvesas underweight. More than half of the females preferred their ideal figure to beunderweight, whereas about 30% males chose an overweight figure as theirideal model. Females were generally more concerned about body weight, bodyshape and eating than males. They diet more frequently, had self-inducedvomiting,  and used laxatives and exercise as their weight-loss strategies.Conclusion: Issues pertaining to body weight perception, eating attitudes andweight-loss strategies exist with differences among male and femaleundergraduates.  Thus, in order to correct misperceptions among young adults,a more tailored intervention programme and more in-depth studies into thevarious factors involved are required.Keywords: BMI, body weight perception, eating attitudes, gender differences,weight loss strategies* Correspondence author: Kuan Pei Xuan; Email: pxkuan@yahoo.co.ukINTRODUCTIONMalaysia is in a state of a  lifestyle transitionbetween traditional and sedentary, withincreasing amounts of consumption of fatand calories. Teenagers who are in theperiod of change and growth in the physical,mental and social aspects may bepredisposed to be overweight and obesealong with other factors such as genetics,daily routine, metabolics and environmentalfactors (Pon et al., 2004).The prevalence of obesity in Malaysia isincreasing. The prevalence of obesity inadults 18 years and above as  reported in theSecond National Health and Morbidity

Gender differences in body mass index, body weight perception and weight loss strategies among undergraduates in Universiti Malaysia Sarawak

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