[Health promotion lifestyle according to self-perception of obesity and objective status measured by bioelectric impedance analysis in college women].

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify congruence between self-perception and objective status of obesity according to %Fat, and to investigate health promotion lifestyle in college women.

Methods: The participants were a convenience sample of 392 college women who were eligible and agreed to participate in this study. Respondents were asked questions using a health promotion lifestyle profile and were evaluated for their body composition using InBody 3.0. The data were analyzed with SPSS 14.0 program, which was used for Chi square, ANOVA, and post-hoc comparison with Scheffe.

Results: The major findings were as follows; 1) Overall, 41.8% of participants misclassified their perceived status of weight by %Fat standards and kappa was 0.329. 2) Two percent were underweight by BMI but overweight by %Fat and 39.0% normal weight by BMI but overweight by %Fat. 3) There were significant differences in health promotion lifestyle according to self-perception of body weight but there was no difference in health promotion lifestyle according to %Fat standards.

Conclusion: These findings suggest the necessity for development and application of tailored health promotion program based on self-perception of body weight and %Fat in order to reform incorrect body image and health behavior in college women.