Mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sex
Abstract Background There is limited information on how the perception of being overweight mediates the connection between eating habits and poor physical health in adults. This study aimed to explore how the perception of being overweight mediates the relationship between healthy eating behaviors a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Discover Social Science and Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00261-x |
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| author | Cristian Ramos-Vera Miguel Basauri-Delgado Christian Casas-Gálvez Norma Del Carmen Gálvez-Díaz Jacksaint Saintila Yaquelin E. Calizaya-Milla |
| author_facet | Cristian Ramos-Vera Miguel Basauri-Delgado Christian Casas-Gálvez Norma Del Carmen Gálvez-Díaz Jacksaint Saintila Yaquelin E. Calizaya-Milla |
| author_sort | Cristian Ramos-Vera |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background There is limited information on how the perception of being overweight mediates the connection between eating habits and poor physical health in adults. This study aimed to explore how the perception of being overweight mediates the relationship between healthy eating behaviors and negative physical health in adults, with a focus on differences by sex. Methods A cross-sectional study with a predictive approach was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM). Data were analyzed from 4032 participants (58.16% women and 41.84% men) from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey 5 (HINTS-5)-Cycle 3. Results Healthy eating behaviors (EB) were positively associated with the perception of being overweight (PO) in both men (β = 0.127, p < 0.001) and women (β = 0.135, p < 0.001). However, a significant negative direct relationship between EB and negative physical health (NPH) was observed only in women (β = − 0.055, p < 0.001), while this relationship was not significant in men (β = − 0.32, p = 0.098). PO was positively associated with NPH in both sexes (β = 0.628 for men and β = 0.640 for women, p < 0.001 for both). The mediation analysis confirmed that PO mediated the relationship between EB and NPH in both men (β = 0.102, p < 0.001) and women (β = 0.112, p < 0.001), explaining a small but significant portion of the variance in NPH (R2 = 0.020), while the overall model explained a larger portion (R2 = 0.387). Conclusion These findings suggest that incorporating body weight perception into the design of interventions may be beneficial for enhancing physical health through healthy eating behaviors, with particular attention to the differential impact on men and women. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b7002d893f5744e39f16ce1d9299908a |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2731-0469 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Springer |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Discover Social Science and Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-b7002d893f5744e39f16ce1d9299908a2025-08-20T04:02:50ZengSpringerDiscover Social Science and Health2731-04692025-07-015111610.1007/s44155-025-00261-xMediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sexCristian Ramos-Vera0Miguel Basauri-Delgado1Christian Casas-Gálvez2Norma Del Carmen Gálvez-Díaz3Jacksaint Saintila4Yaquelin E. Calizaya-Milla5Área de Investigación, Universidad César VallejoFacultad de Psicología y Humanidades, Universidad Femenina del Sagrado CorazónResearch Group for Nutrition and Healthy Behaviors, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Señor de SipánResearch Group for Nutrition and Healthy Behaviors, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Señor de SipánResearch Group for Nutrition and Healthy Behaviors, Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Universidad Señor de SipánSchool of Human Nutrition, Universidad Peruana UniónAbstract Background There is limited information on how the perception of being overweight mediates the connection between eating habits and poor physical health in adults. This study aimed to explore how the perception of being overweight mediates the relationship between healthy eating behaviors and negative physical health in adults, with a focus on differences by sex. Methods A cross-sectional study with a predictive approach was conducted using structural equation modeling (SEM). Data were analyzed from 4032 participants (58.16% women and 41.84% men) from the 2019 Health Information National Trends Survey 5 (HINTS-5)-Cycle 3. Results Healthy eating behaviors (EB) were positively associated with the perception of being overweight (PO) in both men (β = 0.127, p < 0.001) and women (β = 0.135, p < 0.001). However, a significant negative direct relationship between EB and negative physical health (NPH) was observed only in women (β = − 0.055, p < 0.001), while this relationship was not significant in men (β = − 0.32, p = 0.098). PO was positively associated with NPH in both sexes (β = 0.628 for men and β = 0.640 for women, p < 0.001 for both). The mediation analysis confirmed that PO mediated the relationship between EB and NPH in both men (β = 0.102, p < 0.001) and women (β = 0.112, p < 0.001), explaining a small but significant portion of the variance in NPH (R2 = 0.020), while the overall model explained a larger portion (R2 = 0.387). Conclusion These findings suggest that incorporating body weight perception into the design of interventions may be beneficial for enhancing physical health through healthy eating behaviors, with particular attention to the differential impact on men and women.https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00261-xAdultEating behaviorHealth statusOverweightWeight perception |
| spellingShingle | Cristian Ramos-Vera Miguel Basauri-Delgado Christian Casas-Gálvez Norma Del Carmen Gálvez-Díaz Jacksaint Saintila Yaquelin E. Calizaya-Milla Mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sex Discover Social Science and Health Adult Eating behavior Health status Overweight Weight perception |
| title | Mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sex |
| title_full | Mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sex |
| title_fullStr | Mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sex |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sex |
| title_short | Mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health: a multigroup analysis by sex |
| title_sort | mediating role of overweight perception in the relationship between healthy eating habits and negative physical health a multigroup analysis by sex |
| topic | Adult Eating behavior Health status Overweight Weight perception |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1007/s44155-025-00261-x |
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