Background: Obesity and being overweight are two of the most important emerging public health issues in our time and regarded by the World Health Organization (1998) as a worldwide epidemic. The prevalence of obesity is greatest in the United States followed by Australia.
Purpose: This study examined potential associations between sociodemographic factors, physical activity and dietary habits, and self-perception of being overweight in Australian adults and proposed a range of health promotion strategies.
Methods: The three most recent Australian National Health Survey databases (1995, 2001, and 2004/2005) were used as primary data sources. A total of 74,114 Australian adults aged 20 years and older were recruited from these databases.
Results: After controlling for other factors, people in the 2001 and 2005 databases were significantly less likely to self-perceive themselves as overweight than those in the 1995 database (p < .01). Females, younger people, English speakers, and individuals who were married with child/children were more likely to self-perceive themselves as overweight. In exercise, people who did less exercise were more likely to self-perceive themselves to be overweight than those who engaged in regular, strenuous exercise.
Conclusions: Health promotion and education activities should provide education on general public health and education targeted to the needs of specific at risk subgroups. Also, further research into this topic should be longitudinal and designed to examine the causal relationship between being overweight and/or obesity and self-perceptions regarding body weight status.
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