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PubMed2000

Getting the measure of vergence weight in nearness perception.

Combining multiple sources of information allows the human nervous system to construct an approximately Euclidean representation of near (personal) space. Within this space, binocular vergence is an important source of egocentric distance information. We investigated how the nervous system determines the significance (weight) accorded to vergence information when other (retinal) distance cues are present. We found that weight decreases with (1) increasing discrepancy between vergence information and other cues and (2) reduced vergence demand. The results also provided evidence that the nervous system represents vergence related distance information in units of nearness (the reciprocal of distance).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Social support, perceptions of attractiveness, weight, and the CPI in socially anxious males and females.

To see how socially anxious people function in a number of domains, Watson and Friend's (1969) Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SAD) was administered to 101 undergraduates along with the California Personality Inventory (CPI) and the Psychosocial Support Inventory (PSI), a measure of social support. Additionally, a perceived attractiveness measure and various measures related to being overweight were taken. SAD scores correlated significantly in a negative direction with 13 of the 18 CPI scales, and those with high SAD scores had poorer social support networks. High SAD scores also were related to the perception of being overweight, but not to perceived physical attractiveness or to actually being overweight. Gender differences showed that females had more intimate social interactions and that socially anxious females relied more on their family for social support than did other people. Overall, the results suggested that the socially anxious person may have deficits in a variety of personal and interpersonal domains.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Mothers' perceptions of their adolescents' weight status: are they accurate?

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the accuracy of mothers' perceptions of adolescents' weight status. RESEARCH METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Parent interviews and adolescent surveys (755) were conducted in an ethnically diverse sample from Project EAT (Eating among Teens). RESULTS: Adolescent weight status was accurately assessed by 60% of mothers, underestimated by 35% of mothers, and overestimated by 5% of mothers. In multivariate analyses, mothers of female adolescents were about half as likely to underestimate their adolescent's weight status as mothers of male adolescents. Nonoverweight mothers were about half as likely as overweight mothers to underestimate their adolescent's weight status. DISCUSSION: Most mothers are able to accurately assess their adolescent's weight status; however, adolescent gender and mothers' weight status are related to accuracy. Mothers were more likely to underestimate their sons' weights than their daughters' weights, and overweight mothers were more likely to be inaccurate in their assessments than nonoverweight mothers. Findings suggest that the majority of parents do not need to be told that their children are overweight; instead, messages to parents of overweight teens should focus on how to provide support for healthy weight management.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Perception of appetite and weight change during treatment for depression.

As part of the Pittsburgh Appetite Test, 50 depressed outpatients reported their perceptions of appetite and weight change prior to and during chronic treatment with imipramine and psychotherapy. At the end of 4 months, as a group, patients were significantly more conscious of what they were eating, and reported a significant change in the frequency of regular meal consumption. No group changes were noted in frequency of snacking or late night eating, although weight change during treatment and obesity status modified these responses. Clinical response was unrelated to eating behavior. Perception of weight change varied with treatment: a 5 pound weight gain became highly problematic during recovery compared to the depressive episode. The interaction of these factors and antidepressant-induced weight gain are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Haptic perception in anorexia nervosa before and after weight gain.

Haptic perception of patients with anorexia nervosa (n = 10) was analyzed in a longitudinal study (T0-T1). The haptic explorations consisted of palpating the structure of 12 sunken reliefs in sequence with both hands, eyes closed. After each exploration the structure was reproduced on a piece of paper. In the anorexia group, mean exploration time was significantly shorter than in healthy control subjects. However, the reproductions of complex stimuli submitted by the anorexia group were of notably poorer quality than those of the healthy controls. This was also observed after weight gain (T1). The results of the haptic explorations can be interpreted as a cortical dysfunction and deficits in somatosensorical integration processing in patients with anorexia nervosa. This may be due to a disorder of tactual-spatial processing in the right parieto-occipital regions.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Perceptions about body weight and weight reduction in Spain.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the more prevalent beliefs about body weight and the factors involved in weight changes in the Spanish adult population. DESIGN: A national survey was carried out according to an established protocol on Spanish subjects selected by a multistage procedure following a random route model, which was quota-controlled for several sociodemographic variables. This study was undertaken by the Spanish arm of a pan-European survey and was performed with a validated questionnaire. It contained questions to evaluate some aspects concerning the relationship between obesity, physical activity and health. We also estimated the proportion of self-reported overweight and obesity. SETTING: Spain. SUBJECTS: The sample included 1,000 subjects aged 15 years or older. RESULTS: Eleven per cent of the sample were obese (body mass index, BMI > 30 kg/m-2) and an additional 32% were overweight (BMI > 25 and < 30 kg/m-2). Obesity prevalence was higher among older individuals, those with lower education and socioeconomic levels, and among housewives and retired or unemployed people. Most Spanish people believed that fat intake (51%) and the amount of food consumption (44%) were the major factors involved in weight gain, while physical activity was less mentioned (12%). The method most frequently used to lose weight was diet (9%). Individuals from central and southern regions payed more attention to genetics (20-27%) and physical activity (12-20%) as determinants of weight gain than people living in the north or northwest regions (15-17% and 8-9%, respectively). Normal weight people participated more often in some physical activity during their leisure time. CONCLUSIONS: The Spanish population is not familiar with factors influencing weight gain. Health promotion strategies should emphasize the role of physical activity, especially among older individuals, retired or unemployed subjects, those from lower educational or socioeconomic levels and among people living in the north or northwest of Spain.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Restraint and perception of body weight among British adults.

A sample of 533 adults (268 women and 265 men) representative of the general population of Great Britain were interviewed so that the extent and effects of restraint, using the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ; Van Strien, Frijters, Bergers, & Defares, 1986) and the extent of overestimation of body weight could be examined. High-restraint subjects reported more guilt about food and eating and a greater likelihood of overeating in reaction to dysphoric mood, and they were more apt to overestimate their body size. Women reported significantly higher restraint, more guilt after eating in various types of social situations, and more overeating in reaction to dysphoric mood. Higher social class was associated with reports of guilt about a greater number of foods and with reports of more overeating when under stress or tired. Age was positively associated with guilt and negatively associated with overeating in reaction to being under stress, tired, or depressed.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Stable asymmetric interhemispheric theta power in patients with anorexia nervosa during haptic perception even after weight gain: a longitudinal study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the interhemispheric brain electrical asymmetries during a resting period and during haptic tasks in theta frequency band (4-8 Hz) between healthy controls (N = 10) and patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) (N = 10). Additionally, AN patients were investigated twice in a longitudinal design (T(0)-T(1)) to analyze treatment effects. At rest, a theta asymmetry was observed in the AN group during an acute stage of starvation (T(0)) but not after weight gain (T(1)). Importantly, theta asymmetry over central regions (C3-C4) was observed in the AN group during the acute stage of starvation (T(0) as well as after weight gain (T(1)) while performing haptic exploration task. In the control group, we found no significant theta asymmetry neither at rest nor during haptic explorations. Results are interpreted as an overarousal of the right hemisphere in AN patients during complex multisensory integration processing which is possibly a result of general functional deficits of the right hemisphere.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Abnormal perception of body weight is not solely observed in pubertal girls: incorrect body image in children and its relationship to body weight.

Perceived actual body weight and perceived ideal weight were assessed in 255 Japanese children and adolescents (130 boys, 125 girls) aged 6 years through 18 years using the drawing test to clarify whether they wanted to be thinner or to gain weight. More than half (68%) of the girls attending high school and 41% of the elementary school girls perceived their ideal weight to be less than the standard. The mean difference between the perceived actual weight and the ideal weight was positive in the high school girls of normal weight as well as in the overweight girls, meaning that even the normal-weight girls wanted to lose weight. The difference was also slightly positive in the underweight girls. The difference in the high school boys was negative, demonstrating that they wished to gain weight. It is suggested that girls want to lose weight even before adolescence; this tendency becomes more prominent in the high school period and is mostly unrelated to their own weight.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Effects of acute prolonged exposure to high-altitude hypoxia on exercise-induced breathlessness.

The direct effects of hypoxia on exercise-induced breathlessness are unclear. Increased breathlessness on exercise is known to occur at high altitude, but it is not known whether this is related to the hypoxia per se, or to other ventilatory parameters. To examine the role of high-altitude hypoxia in exercise-induced breathlessness, studies were performed in 10 healthy, normal subjects at sea level and after acute exposure to an altitude of 4450 m. Although the perception of hand weights did not alter between sea level and high altitude, the intensity of exercise-induced breathlessness increased significantly at high altitude. This was associated with a higher minute ventilation and respiratory frequency for any given exercise level, whereas tidal volume was not significantly altered from sea level values. The increased intensity of breathlessness with exercise did not change significantly over the 5 days at high altitude. These results suggest that the increased intensity of exercise-induced breathlessness at high altitude is not related to peripheral mechanisms or the pattern of ventilation, or to the level of hypoxia per se, but to the level of reflexly increased ventilation.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2005

Dietary intake, perceptions regarding body weight, and attitudes toward weight control of normal weight, overweight, and obese Black females in a rural village in South Africa.

OBJECTIVES: To determine dietary intake and attitude toward weight control of normal weight, overweight, and obese Black women. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Rural village in KwaZulu province, South Africa. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample (N=187) of 25- to 55-year-old women, of whom 28.9% (N=54) were of normal weight, 41.2% (N=77) were overweight, and 29.9% (N=56) were obese. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Dietary intake, attitude toward weight control, perceived causes of overweight, perceived health risks, and self-reported health status. RESULTS: Dietary intake did not differ among the three groups. Overweight and obese women did not view weight control differently than women of normal weight. Most women were unconcerned about their weight. Only 2% of overweight and 30% of obese women thought they were too fat. Most women (96%) agreed that obesity was caused by biological disorders, while 39% and 9% agreed that it was caused by poor eating habits and eating too much food, respectively. Most women did not recognize the relationship between food consumed and degenerative diseases. Compared to normal-weight and overweight women, obese women had a significantly higher prevalence of self-reported high blood pressure and suffered more from back pain. CONCLUSIONS: Most of these rural women were unconcerned about their weight and most overweight and obese women did not want to lose weight. The acceptance of overweight and obesity can hinder the effectiveness of weight control programs. A special attempt should be made to target such programs to rural woman.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Obese women's perceptions of their physicians' weight management attitudes and practices.

BACKGROUND: Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Primary care physicians will see increasing numbers of patients with long-term weight management problems. OBJECTIVE: To examine obese women's perceptions of their physicians' weight management attitudes and practices. DESIGN AND SETTING: Women who participated in obesity trials at a university clinic completed a questionnaire that assessed their views of weight control provided by their primary care physician. PARTICIPANTS: The patients were 259 women whose age was 44.0 +/- 10.0 years; weight, 96.7 +/- 13.2 kg; and body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters), 35.2 +/- 4.5 (all data given as mean +/- SD). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Using 7-point scales (1 indicates low; and 7, high), patients rated their satisfaction with care provided for their general health and that for their obesity. They also identified methods their physician recommended for weight management and the frequency of negative interactions with their physician concerning weight control. RESULTS: Participants were generally satisfied with the care they received for their general health and with their physicians' medical expertise (mean scores, 6. 1 and 6.2, respectively). They were significantly (P<.001) less satisfied with care for their obesity and with their physicians' expertise in this area (mean scores, 4.1 and 4.3, respectively). Almost 50% reported that their physician had not recommended any of 10 common weight loss methods, and 75% indicated they looked to their physician a "slight amount" or "not at all" for help with weight control. Only a small minority of patients (0.4%-8.0%) reported frequent, negative interactions with physicians concerning their weight. CONCLUSIONS: The last finding helps allay concerns that obese patients are routinely treated disrespectfully by physicians when discussing weight. The challenge, however, for primary care physicians appears to be providing patients better assistance with weight management.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Social aspects of body image: perception of normalcy of weight and affect of college undergraduates.

Two aspects of body image, perception of normalcy of weight and affect, were studied by means of a paper-and-pencil test with 62 male and 117 female undergraduates. The relationship of the social characteristics of sex, age, race, and actual body weight (underweight, normal weight, overweight) to body-image distortion was investigated. Individuals who were underweight or overweight were more likely to perceptually distort their weight-related appearance than were normal weight respondents. Among those who misperceived their weight-related appearance, both underweight and overweight persons tended to normalize their appearance. Among those who misperceived their weight-related appearance, sex was also related to the type of perceptual distortion experienced. Females tended to perceive themselves as appearing heavier, whereas males tended to perveive themselves as appearing lighter, than they actually were. There was no relationship between perceptual distortion of body weight and body affect. Age, race, and actual body weight were related to affect. Affect was more negative among young respondents than older respondents. White individuals had poorer affect scores than non-whites. Overweight respondents also had more negative affect scores than other respondents.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Perceptions of changes in weight among African American breast cancer survivors.

BACKGROUND: Although African American breast cancer survivors are most likely to gain weight following diagnosis and treatment compared to women from other ethnic groups, limited information is available on psychological and behavioral reactions to weight change in this population. OBJECTIVES: To explore perceptions and reactions to weight change in African American breast cancer survivors. METHODOLOGY: A parallel mixed methods approach was used to explore experiences with and reactions to weight change following breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. Participants were 16 short- and long-term African American breast cancer survivors. RESULTS: Nine out of 16 participants gained weight following diagnosis and treatment and most participants were concerned about these changes. Most participants were also interested in diet and exercise programs; however, a holistic and common sense approach to diet and physical activity emerged as key themes. CONCLUSIONS: Although prior reports have found that African American women in the general population report a greater tolerance for larger body sizes, most participants in this study were concerned about changes in their weight and were actively trying to minimize weight gain. Several themes emerged regarding physical activity and dietary behaviors; overall, participants described a holistic and practical approach to these behaviors.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Does energy expenditure affect the perception of egocentric distance? A failure to replicate experiment 1 of Proffitt, Stefanucci, Banton, and Epstein (2003).

In a series of recent studies, Proffitt and his colleagues have reported that the perceived distance to a target is influenced by the energy expenditure associated with any action, such as walking or throwing, for spanning the distance to the target. In particular, Proffitt, Stefanucci, Banton, and Epstein (2003) reported that wearing a heavy backpack caused verbal reports of distance to increase. We conducted a study to determine whether three responses dependent on perceived distance (verbal report of distance, blind walking, and estimates of object size) are influenced by the backpack manipulation. In two experiments, one involving a between-participants design and the other involving a within-participants design, we found that none of the three responses were influenced by the wearing of a heavy backpack.

Adolescent↗