HUNT Research Centre, Department of Public Health and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Forskningsveien 2, 7600, Levanger, Norway.
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2011 May;46(5):353-62. doi: 10.1007/s00127-010-0197-z. Epub 2010 Mar 19.
The associations between psychological factors and weight problems in adolescents are not conclusive. We studied associations between psychological factors, including personality and weight problems, in an adolescent population. In addition, we examined the same psychological factors as predictors for change in weight categories during adolescence.
From 1995 to 1997, 8,090 adolescents, aged 13-18 years, participated in the Young-HUNT-I study; of those, 1,619 also participated in a follow-up study in 2000-2001. They completed a questionnaire monitoring eating problems, self-esteem, personality, anxiety, and depression, and had their height and weight measured. Weight problems were defined using the international age-and sex-specific BMI-cut-offs defining underweight, overweight, and obesity. Psychological factors at baseline were studied both in relation to weight categories at baseline, and as predictors for weight change between baseline and the follow-up.
Significant sex differences in mean values were found in all psychological factors, with higher scores in girls compared with boys. In the cross-sectional design, eating problems were associated with weight problems, and the two factors of oral control (EAT-A) and food preoccupation (EAT-B) showed an inverse association. Oral control was associated with underweight, while food preoccupation was associated with overweight and obesity in both sexes. Low self-esteem was associated with overweight and obesity in both sexes, but no association was found between emotional problems or personality traits, and weight problems. During the follow-up, oral control was a clear predictor of weight change during adolescence in both sexes. Oral control protected against unhealthy weight gain but also predicted unhealthy weight reduction in both sexes.
Girls scored higher on all psychological factors compared with boys, but no sex differences were found with regard to the association between psychological factors and weight problems. Eating problems showed the strongest association with weight problems at baseline and were also the strongest predictor of weight change during adolescence.
心理因素与青少年体重问题之间的关联尚无定论。我们研究了青少年人群中包括人格在内的心理因素与体重问题之间的关联。此外，我们还研究了相同的心理因素是否可以预测青少年时期体重类别的变化。
1995 年至 1997 年，有 8090 名 13-18 岁的青少年参加了 Young-HUNT-I 研究；其中 1619 人还参加了 2000-2001 年的随访研究。他们完成了一份监测饮食问题、自尊、人格、焦虑和抑郁的问卷，并测量了身高和体重。体重问题使用国际年龄和性别特异性 BMI 切点定义，包括消瘦、超重和肥胖。基线时的心理因素既与基线时的体重类别有关，也与基线和随访之间的体重变化有关。
所有心理因素的平均值均存在显著的性别差异，女孩的得分高于男孩。在横断面设计中，饮食问题与体重问题相关，而口腔控制（EAT-A）和食物关注（EAT-B）这两个因素呈反比关系。口腔控制与消瘦有关，而食物关注与男女的超重和肥胖有关。低自尊与男女的超重和肥胖有关，但情绪问题或人格特质与体重问题之间没有关联。在随访期间，口腔控制是男女青少年体重变化的明确预测因素。口腔控制可以预防不健康的体重增加，但也可以预测男女的不健康体重减轻。
与男孩相比，女孩在所有心理因素上的得分都更高，但在心理因素与体重问题之间的关联方面没有发现性别差异。饮食问题与基线时的体重问题关联最强，也是青少年时期体重变化的最强预测因素。
