The public's response to the obesity epidemic in Australia: weight concerns and weight control practices of men and women

Objective: To assess weight perceptions, weight concerns and weight control behaviours and related beliefs in a representative sample of adults. Design: Cross-sectional postal survey. Setting: The survey was conducted between October and December 1997 in the state of Victoria, Australia. Subjects: A total of 2500 subjects were selected at random from the Australian electoral roll; 900 provided usable responses. Results: At the time of the survey, 2.7% of respondents were trying to gain weight, 26.6% were trying to avoid gaining weight, 22.9% were trying to lose weight and 47.9% were not doing anything for their weight. Men (47.2%) were less likely than women (55.3%) to be attempting any form of weight control. Watching the type of food eaten (95.6%), reducing dietary fat intake (87.3%) and engaging in physical activity or exercise (84.4%) were the most common weight control strategies used. Potentially harmful strategies, such as self-induced vomiting and smoking, were used by relatively few respondents. Many adults believed that vigorous activity (26.8%) and total omission of fat from the diet (35.3%) are necessary in order to lose weight. Conclusions: Attempts at weight control are common in the community. However, many men, including men who are already overweight, appear to be unconcerned about their weight. Obesity prevention initiatives should attempt to influence individuals' weight-related beliefs and behaviours, as well as seeking to change policies and environments to better support weight control.