Objectives Mental health disorders and suicide are an important and growing public health concern in Korea. Evidence has shown that both globally and in Korea, obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing some psychiatric disorders. Therefore, we examined the association between distorted body weight perception (BWP) and suicidal ideation.
Methods Data were obtained from the 2007-2012 Korea National Health and Nutritional Evaluation Survey (KNHANES), an annual cross-sectional nationwide survey that included 14 276 men and 19 428 women. Multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to investigate the associations between nine BWP categories, which combined body image (BI) and body mass index (BMI) categories, and suicidal ideation. Moreover, the fitness of our models was verified using the Akaike information criterion.
Results Consistent with previous studies, suicidal ideation was associated with marital status, household income, education level, and perceived health status in both genders. Only women were significantly more likely to have distorted BWP; there was no relationship among men. In category B1 (low BMI and normal BI), women (odds ratio [OR], 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.48 to 3.42) were more likely to express suicidal ideation than women in category B2 (normal BMI and normal BI) were. Women in overweight BWP category C2 (normal BMI and fat BI) also had an increased OR for suicidal ideation (OR, 2.25; 95% CI, 1.48 to 3.42). Those in normal BWP categories were not likely to have suicidal ideation. Among women in the underweight BWP categories, only the OR for those in category A2 (normal BMI and thin BI) was significant (OR, 1.34; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.59).
Conclusions Distorted BWP should be considered an important factor in the prevention of suicide and for the improvement of mental health among Korean adults, especially Korean women with distorted BWPs.
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OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to examine the mediating function of body weight perception (BWP) on the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and unhealthy weight control behaviors (UWCB: e.g., fasting, or taking diet pills or laxatives) and between BMI and depressed mood, and to explore the effect of distorted BWP on UWCB and depressed mood among adult women. METHODS: A regionally representative sample of 8,581 women aged 20-64 years residing in Seoul, the capital of Korea, completed the 2001 Seoul Citizens Health Indicator Survey which provides self-reported information about height, weight, BWP, UWCB, depressed mood, demographic/ socioeconomic characteristics, and health-related behaviors. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression. RESULTS: BMI was significantly associated both with UWCB and depressed mood, even controlling for all covariates. However, the magnitude and significance of each association was considerably attenuated when BWP was taken into account, indicating that BWP functioned, in part, as a mediator between BMI and UWCB and between BMI and depressed mood, respectively. Among the combinations of BMI and BWP, women who perceived themselves to be heavier than their actual BMIs appeared more likely to use UWCB, whereas women who had a distorted BWP, either underestimation or overestimation as compared with their BMIs, tended to be at greater risk for depressed mood than those who had an undistorted BWP. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that how women perceive their body weight may be an important predictor and/or mediator of UWCB and depressed mood among adult Korean women.
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