Comparison of perceptions of obesity among adults with central obesity with and without additional cardiometabolic risk factors and among those who were formally obese, 3 years after screening for central obesity

Socioeconomic position, perceived weight, lifestyle risk, and multimorbidity in young adults aged 18 to 35 years: a Multi-country Study

BACKGROUND

Multimorbidity-risk is established early in life, therefore reducing modifiable risk factors such as overweight or obesity may, in part, tackle the burden of multimorbidity in later life.

METHODS

We made use of a cross-sectional online survey that included young adults (18-35yrs old) from three countries - Kenya, South Africa, and the United Kingdom (n = 3000). Information pertaining to socio-demographic, health, lifestyle, and perceived weight was collected. Additionally, the sum of affirmed morbidities was used to determine a morbidity score. Likewise, a lifestyle risk score was calculated based on information obtained from questions surrounding four unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, namely current smoking, alcohol consumption, physical inactivity, and overweight/obese weight status as a confirmed clinic condition. We further explored differences in socioeconomic position, and the prevalence of perceived weight, multimorbidity, and lifestyle risk factors between the three countries. We also determined the odds ratio of multimorbidity with perceived weight as a main predictor variable. We furthermore performed a generalised structural equation model to determine whether the association between socioeconomic position and multimorbidity was mediated via perceived weight and/or lifestyle risk.

RESULTS

Socioeconomic position, weight perceptions, lifestyle risk, and multimorbidity varied significantly across the different economic countries. Higher morbidity (by > 11.9%) and lifestyle risk (by > 20.7%) scores were observed in those who reported an overweight weight perception when compared to those with an underweight or normal weight perception. In pooled analyses, the odds ratio in developing 2 or more morbidities increased multiple times in those who perceived themselves as overweight (all models: OR ≥ 2.241 [95% CI ≥ 1.693; ≥ 2.966] p < 0.001), showing a larger odds ratio with high significance in those who reported 3 or more morbidities (all models: OR ≥ 3.656 [95% CI ≥ 2.528; ≥ 5.286] p < 0.001). Furthermore, this study showed that an overweight weight perception partially mediated (p ≤ 0.001) the association between socioeconomic position and multimorbidity.

CONCLUSIONS

This study confirmed poorer health outcomes in those who perceived themselves as overweight. The findings from this study further emphasise the importance of targeted intervention strategies directed at raising weight-related awareness and potentiating risk factors, specifically in those who reside in lower economic developed countries.

High Diet Quality Is Linked to Low Risk of Abdominal Obesity among the Elderly Women in China

How diet as a whole impacts the risk of general overweight and abdominal obesity among the Chinese elderly is unclear. The present study aimed to examine the association of overall diet quality with general overweight and abdominal obesity in the Chinese elderly. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1993 to 2015, an ongoing cohort study, we selected participants aged 60 and older who were not generally overweight, but who had abdominal obesity at baseline and who had participated in at least two waves of the survey as subjects. The China Elderly Dietary Guidelines Index (CDGI-E) was used, based on the critical diet-related recommendations of the 2016 Chinese Dietary Guideline (CDG-2016), to assess overall diet quality. Consecutive 3 d, 24 h recalls and household weighing for seasonings and edible oils were used to collect dietary data and calculate the CDGI-E scores. Three-level (community-individual-wave) random intercept logistic regression models were used to analyze the impact of diet quality on the risk of general overweight and abdominal obesity in the elderly. The results showed that the older women in the top sixtiles of the CDGI-E scores had a 38% reduction —0.62, 95% CI (0.41, 0.92)—in the risk of abdominal obesity, as compared to those in the bottom sixtiles after adjusting for all potential confounders, while the null association was observed in the older men. The relationship between CDGI-E score and the risk of overweight/general obesity in the Chinese elderly has not been found. It was concluded that a high diet quality was associated with a reduced risk of abdominal obesity among elderly women in China. Our findings will help to improve the understanding of the relationship between the overall effect of diet and health. It may provide a new avenue for obesity intervention policy formulation from the aspect of improving overall dietary quality.

Gender and Emotional Representation Matter: Own Illness Beliefs and Their Relationship to Obesity

Background

Current treatments of obesity often fail to consider gender and psychological aspects, which are essential for weight loss and weight maintenance. The aim of our study was to analyze subjective illness representations (SIRs) of adults with obesity according to the Common-Sense Self-Regulation Model (CSM) by assessing their associations with weight-related variables and gender.

Methods

Data was collected via online self-assessment between April 2017 and March 2018. SIRs were operationalized by the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R) and illness outcomes according to the CSM were defined as BMI, eating behaviour, physical wellbeing, bodyweight satisfaction, and shape concerns. The sample consisted of 427 adults (M = 42.2 years, SD = 10.9; 82% female) with obesity (BMI: M = 42.3 kg/m², SD = 9.0). Student's t-tests and multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted with the control variables (age and BMI) and subjective illness representations and gender as independent variables.

Results

The explanation of outcome variances was moderate to high (21-43%) except for restraint eating behaviour (10%). Subjective illness representations showed several significant associations with weight-related variables, especially timeline and emotional representations. Female gender was significantly associated with more restraint eating behaviour [F_{(1, 400)} = 4.19, p < 0.001] and females had unfavourable values of the weight-related variables as well as a more cyclic [t₍₄₂₅₎ = 3.68, p < 0.001], and more emotional representation [t₍₁₀₀₎ = 5.17, p < 0.001] of their obesity.

Conclusion

The results of this study indicate that gender and subjective illness representations, especially the emotional representation, play an important role for weight-related variables. Therefore, the assessment of SIRs may constitute an economic tool to identify specific individual deficits of self-regulation.

Illness perceptions and health-related quality of life in individuals with overweight and obesity

INTRODUCTION

To understand how individuals (self-)manage obesity, insight is needed into how patients perceive their condition and how this perception translates into health outcomes (e.g., health-related quality of life, HRQOL). Our objectives were (1) to examine illness perceptions in individuals with overweight and obesity, and (2) to investigate associations of these perceptions with physical and mental HRQOL.

METHODS

In a cross-sectional analysis of the Netherlands Epidemiology of Obesity Study (n = 6432; 52% women), illness perceptions were assessed using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, and HRQOL was assessed using the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey. Illness perceptions were calculated for different categories of overall, abdominal, and metabolically unhealthy obesity. We investigated associations of illness perceptions with HRQOL using BMI-stratified multivariable linear regression analyses.

RESULTS

Compared to individuals with normal weight, individuals with obesity believed to a higher extent that their condition had more serious consequences [Mean Difference (95%CI): 1.8 (1.6-2.0)], persisted for a longer time [3.4 (3.2-3.6)], manifested in more symptoms [3.8 (3.6-4.0)], caused more worry [4.2 (3.9-4.4)] and emotional distress [2.0 (1.8-2.2)], but was more manageable with medical treatment [3.1 (2.9-3.4)]. They perceived to a lesser extent that they had personal control [-2.2 (-2.4, -2.0)] and understanding [-0.3 (-0.5, -0.1)] regarding their condition. These negative perceptions were less pronounced in individuals with abdominal obesity. Behaviour/Lifestyle was attributed by 73% of participants to be the cause of their obesity. Stronger negative illness perceptions were associated with impaired HRQOL, particularly the physical component.

CONCLUSION

Individuals with obesity perceived their conditions as threatening, and this seemed somewhat stronger in individuals with overall obesity than those with abdominal obesity. Behaviour/Lifestyle is a crucial target intervention and empowering self-management behaviour to achieve a healthy body weight may deliver promising results. In addition, strategies that aim to change negative perceptions of obesity into more adaptive ones may improve HRQOL.

People with activity limitations' perceptions of their health condition and their relationships with social participation and experienced autonomy

Background

People with activity limitations participate less in society, which may be due to both societal barriers and personal factors. The aim of this study was to examine the role of one specific personal factor, namely the perceptions that people have of their health condition. We hypothesized that perceptions of more personal control and less negative consequences increase the likelihood of participation in social activities and of experiencing autonomy in participation.

Methods

Survey data of 1681 people with activity limitations participating in a Dutch nationwide panel-study were analyzed by means of logistic and linear regression analyses. Perceptions of the health condition were assessed with the revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R). Social participation was operationalized as doing volunteer work, participating in club activities and meeting friends. Two scales of the Impact on Participation and Autonomy questionnaire were used to assess experienced autonomy regarding participation.

Results

People who perceived more personal control over their health condition were more likely to participate in volunteer work (OR = 1.36) and club activities (OR = 1.35). People who believed their condition to be long-lasting were also more likely to do volunteer work (OR = 1.34), whereas people who reported a better understanding of their condition were more likely to frequently meet friends (OR = 1.19). Perceptions of the health condition explained 14% of the variance in experienced autonomy in participation, in addition to the severity of participants’ activity limitations and their age, gender and education level. Especially a belief in more serious consequences, a perception of a long-lasting and less controllable condition, a perception of less understanding of the condition and a greater perceived impact on the emotional state were associated with experiencing less autonomy in participation.

Conclusions

People with activity limitations who experience less control over their condition participate less in volunteer work and club activities than people who experience more control. Perceptions of the health condition are just as important to explain differences in participation as the severity of people’s activity limitations and their socio-demographic characteristics. Health and social care professionals should pay attention to people’s perceptions, to help people with activity limitations to participate according to their needs, circumstances, and preferences.

Reprint of OASIS - Obesity Awareness and Insight Scale

AIMS

Impaired illness awareness or not accepting that one has obesity is an understudied phenomenon that may negatively influence treatment adherence and clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review of available measures of obesity awareness, and subsequently develop and validate a novel scale that measures the core domains of obesity awareness.

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature revealed no illness specific measure of subjective obesity awareness. As such, we designed the Obesity Awareness and Insight Scale (OASIS) to assess the following core domains of illness awareness: General Illness Awareness, Symptom Attribution, Awareness of Need for Treatment and the Negative Consequences attributable to the illness (www.illnessawarenessscales.com). Participants (n=100) were recruited from an online survey platform to assess the psychometric properties of OASIS.

RESULTS

The OASIS demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.89), convergent (r(98)=0.65, p<0.001) and discriminant validity, and test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation=0.76). An exploratory factor analysis of OASIS revealed a single latent component.

CONCLUSIONS

OASIS is an obesity-specific instrument that comprehensively measures subjective obesity awareness. OASIS can be used in epidemiological studies, intervention trials, and clinical practice to assess the impact of obesity awareness on treatment adherence and outcomes.

OASIS: The Obesity Awareness and Insight Scale

Aims

Impaired illness awareness or not accepting that one has obesity is an understudied phenomenon that may negatively influence treatment adherence and clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review of available measures of obesity awareness, and subsequently develop and validate a novel scale that measures the core domains of obesity awareness.

Methods

A systematic review of the literature revealed no illness specific measure of subjective obesity awareness. As such, we designed the Obesity Awareness and Insight Scale (OASIS) to assess the following core domains of illness awareness: General Illness Awareness,, Symptom Attribution,, Awareness of Need for Treatment and the Negative Consequences attributable to the illness (www.illnessawarenessscales.com). Participants (n=100) were recruited from an online survey platform to assess the psychometric properties of OASIS.

Results

The OASIS demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=0.89), convergent (r(98)=0.65, p<0.001) and discriminant validity, and test-retest reliability (intra-class correlation=0.76). An exploratory factor analysis of OASIS revealed a single latent component.

Conclusions

OASIS is an obesity-specific instrument that comprehensively measures subjective obesity awareness. OASIS can be used in epidemiological studies, intervention trials and clinical practice to assess the impact of obesity awareness on treatment adherence and outcomes.

Barriers to influenza vaccine uptake in obese people in Italy: Changes 2005-2013

BACKGROUND

Obesity is an independent risk factor for developing flu-related complications.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to analyze influenza vaccine uptake (VU) in the Italian obese, before and after the introduction of obesity among the national recommendations, and to evaluate factors associated to VU.

METHODS

The comparison of two editions of the national survey carried out in 2004-2005, before the inclusion of obese people among the specific high risk categories for flu complications, and in 2013, reaching a sample of 21,857 persons who declared to have a BMI>30. Multilevel logistic regression was used to evaluate potential independent predictors of influenza immunization.

RESULTS

Influenza vaccination coverage was 27.16% in 2013, versus 31.61% in 2005. A significant reduction of VU was registered after the introduction of obesity among the high risk conditions, for which flu VU was recommended. Regression modeling, both in adults and in older people, confirmed that barriers to VU in 2013 were younger age, medium level of education, absence of chronic disease, smoking habit, and reporting no contacts with GPs during the previous 12months. Among those aged 65 or more, the role of regional policies was associated to VU.

CONCLUSIONS

Immunization rates among young obese population are low, especially if not affected by comorbidities. Moreover, a reduction was registered in 2013 with respect to 2005. Flu vaccine uptake among the older population seems to be influenced by regional vaccination strategies. The development of novel strategy is warranted, especially among the young adults.