Overweight and obesity among adolescents in Norway: a response from the UK [Letter]

Stevens, Daniel Jordan, Clarke, Matthew Culann and Robbe, Iain J. 2009. Overweight and obesity among adolescents in Norway: a response from the UK [Letter]. Journal of Public Health 31 (2) , p. 308. 10.1093/pubmed/fdp004

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Abstract

The article by Grøholt et al.1 is valuable for its insights into the cultural and socio-economic differences that affect whether adolescents are overweight or obese, and these differences are important public health issues. However, as medical students who represent a relatively similar age group to the participants in the study, we question the accuracy of the self-reporting. Reflecting on our experiences in the UK, we consider that many 15–16 year olds will not be able to reliably categorize their family's economic situation. We also question whether a teenager's future educational plans at this age are an accurate proxy for socio-economic status, and whether social desirability bias may act to some degree when filling in the questionnaire. The use of self-reported height and weight is often unavoidable; however, evidence exists describing the underestimation of weight and overestimation of height by adolescents, particularly girls.2–4 With this in mind, it would be relevant to know whether the questionnaires were filled out alone and privately, or publicly with friends/colleagues in a classroom. The lack of association between physical activity, overweight and obese status seems evidence in itself of possible inaccuracies in self-reporting. We wonder if the term ‘activity’ is too diffuse and if further clarification of its appropriate use may have led to a different result. Furthermore, we suggest an assessment of mental health status among the participants could have added an extra-dimension to the results and subsequent conclusions, especially as evidence exists showing an association between body weight, psychological well-being and future aspirations.5 We appreciate our relative lack of knowledge of Norwegian adolescent cultures compared with the authors'. However, the issues we have described might assist the public health initiatives in Norway and possibly facilitate the application of the results to other countries.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Medicine
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DL Northern Europe. Scandinavia R Medicine > R Medicine (General) R Medicine > RC Internal medicine
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
ISSN:	1741-3842
Last Modified:	06 Apr 2022 10:51
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/28273

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