C. Davis et al., SOCIAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND BEHAVIORAL-FACTORS RELATED TO BODY-SIZE INADULT MEN AND WOMEN - A COMPARISON OF METHODS, Annals of behavioral medicine, 17(1), 1995, pp. 25-31
Some of the difficulties with obesity research concern inconsistencies
in the definition of the construct, the methods by which it has been
assessed, and the samples that have been employed. The purpose of the
present study was to investigate whether there were significant differ
ences in the nature of the simultaneous relationships between a number
of variables previously associated with obesity and body size when as
sessments were made by body mass index (BMI) or an estimation of fatne
ss from skinfold thicknesses. In addition, comparisons were made when
subjects were classified into obese and non-obese categories. Appropri
ate multiple regression and logistic regression analyses were used to
analyze these data for a group of adult men and women sampled from the
general population. These procedures allowed a comparison of results
when the dependent variables were in their continuous versus their dic
hotomous form. Approximately 250 adult men and women participated in t
he study. Percent body fat was associated with less frequent leisure t
ime exercise participation, slower walking speed, reduced levels of tr
ait anxiety, and a greater tendency to diet. Among women, but not men,
lower socioeconomic status was also related to fatness. However, seve
ral of these relationships were absent when BMI served as the measure
of body size, and to a greater extent, when subjects were classified i
nto obesity categories. The findings of this study underscore the impo
rtance of measurement techniques and classification procedures in dete
rmining the outcome of psychosocial and behavioural data in the area o
f obesity research.