Results indicated that perceived overweight was associated with an increased likelihood of attempting weight loss and with healthy and unhealthy weight control strategies in some participant groups .
However , perceived overweight was not reliably associated with physical activity or healthy eating and was associated with greater disordered eating in some groups .
Rather than being associated with improved weight management , there was consistent evidence that perceived overweight was predictive of increased weight gain over time .
Individuals who perceive their weight status as overweight are more likely to report attempting weight loss but over time gain more weight
It is commonly assumed that a person identifying that they are ' overweight ' is an important prerequisite to successful weight management .
However , there has been no systematic evaluation of evidence supporting this proposition .
The aim of the present research was to systematic ally review evidence on the relationship between perceived overweight and ( i ) weight loss attempts , ( ii )  weight control strategies ( healthy and unhealthy )  , ( iii ) weight-related behaviours ( physical activity and eating habits ) , ( iv ) disordered eating and ( v ) weight change .
Association between weight perception and psychological distress
Background : Obesity is a well-known cause of cardiovascular disease burden and premature death , but effects on depressive symptoms remain equivocal . Depressive symptoms may be more common among the obese individuals who perceive themselves as overweight , rather than those who perceive themselves as having an acceptable weight . Our aim was to determine whether weight status and weight perceptions are independently associated with psychological distress . Methods : We conducted a cross-sectional study  using data from the Australian National Health Survey 2004–2005 ( N=17 253 ) . All variables were collected by self-report . Adjusted multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to generate prevalence odds ratios with 95 % confidence intervals ( 95 % CI ) for medium ( Kessler Psychological Distress Scale ( K10 ) scores of 20–29 ) and high ( K10 scores of 30–50 ) psychological distress ( compared with K10 scores of 10–19 as the reference ) associated with weight status ( st and ard body mass index ( BMI ) cutoffs for underweight , overweight and obesity vs normal weight ) , weight perception ( perceived underweight and overweight vs acceptable weight ) and weight misperception ( incorrect with BMI vs correct with BMI ) adjusting for numerous important covariates . Results : Overweight and underweight perception increased the odds of medium ( 40 and 50 % ) and high ( 50 and 120 % ) psychological distress , whereas weight status and weight misperception were not associated with psychological distress in adjusted analysis . Gender , alcohol consumed per week and post-school education were not significant covariates ( at P<0.10 level ) . Conclusions : Overweight and underweight perception rather than weight status or weight misperception are significant risk factors associated with medium and high psychological distress prevalence and effects appear to be uniform for men and women . Well- design ed prospect i ve studies are still needed to determine whether weight perceptions cause psychological distress , and if so , whether symptoms are significantly reduced following effective intervention
Results indicated that perceived overweight was associated with an increased likelihood of attempting weight loss and with healthy and unhealthy weight control strategies in some participant groups .
However , perceived overweight was not reliably associated with physical activity or healthy eating and was associated with greater disordered eating in some groups .
Rather than being associated with improved weight management , there was consistent evidence that perceived overweight was predictive of increased weight gain over time .
Individuals who perceive their weight status as overweight are more likely to report attempting weight loss but over time gain more weight
It is commonly assumed that a person identifying that they are ' overweight ' is an important prerequisite to successful weight management .
However , there has been no systematic evaluation of evidence supporting this proposition .
The aim of the present research was to systematic ally review evidence on the relationship between perceived overweight and ( i ) weight loss attempts , ( ii )  weight control strategies ( healthy and unhealthy )  , ( iii ) weight-related behaviours ( physical activity and eating habits ) , ( iv ) disordered eating and ( v ) weight change .