Beyond the looking glass - Socioeconomic differences in weight perception and weight control attempts among Korean women: Evidence from a national survey

Background Weight perception is an important factor for weight health as misperception of body weight could influence one’s ability to achieve healthy weight. It has been suggested that the perception of body weight may vary across gender and socioeconomic status (SES) strata. The primary purpose of this study was to examine the association between SES and weight perception among Korean women. The secondary aim was to assess whether weight perception is associated with weight control attempts after adjusting for SES. Methods A total of 7253 women (19–64 years old) who participated in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) 2016–2018 were included in our analysis. Actual weight status measured by body mass index (BMI; kg/m ² ) and self-perceived weight status were used to classify respondents into three weight perception groups: under-estimation group, accurate-estimation group, and over-estimation group. Based on self-reported weight control attempts, respondents were divided into three groups: necessary control group, unnecessary control group, and no attempt group. Two separate multinomial logistic regressions were conducted. Results Lower educational attainment was associated with underestimation of body weight (RRR: 1.38, 95% CI: 1.00–1.90). Women with middle school education were less likely to overestimate their weight (RRR: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.61–0.93) while high school graduates were more likely to overestimate their weight (RRR: 1.16, 95% CI: 1.01–1.33).