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 .
Body-weight perception and related preoccupations in a large national sample of adolescents.
OBJECTIVES This study aim ed to investigate the association between body-weight ( BW ) perception , weight preoccupation and behaviour , including weight control practice s and compulsive over-eating episodes , across gender and actual BW classes . DESIGN This study used a cross-sectional observational study . PARTICIPANTS A large , nationally representative sample of 6404 ninth- grade French adolescents was r and omly selected from schools throughout France . METHODS Weight and height were measured , and BW preoccupation , BW control practice s and compulsive over-eating  were self-reported using st and ardized question naires . RESULTS Nearly one-third of adolescents misperceived their BW . Misperception was more frequent among girls than boys ( 42.2 % vs. 27.3 % , P < 0.01 ) . Underestimation of BW among overweight adolescents , like BW overestimation among underweight adolescents , was associated with less preoccupation with weight and fewer weight control practice s than accurate perception of BW . Normal weight adolescents who overestimated their BW were more likely to declare weight preoccupations ( ORa = 8.66 [ 6.67 - 11.25 ] ) , dieting ( ORa = 4.81 [ 3.68 - 6.27 ] ) and recurrent compulsive over-eating episodes ( ORa = 2.36 [ 1.72 - 3.23 ] ) compared with their counterparts who correctly estimated their BW . CONCLUSION Our study underlines the role of these associations in each category of actual BW ( underweight , normal weight and overweight ) in a large national sample
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 .