The weight of overweight Differences in the locus of control and physical activity behavior of overweight and normal weight people

Introduction. People's demands on their body, diet and attitudes towards and the perception of overweight, underweight and normal weight have changed significantly over the last few decades and the average body mass index in the German population significantly increased between 1999 and 2017.Objectives. The goal is to determine which factors in physical activity, awareness of one's own physical condition and inner beliefs differ between overweight and normal-weight people. Conclusions will be drawn as to whether these factors influence the development of obesity.Methods. Weight, height, physical activity and attitudes of the participants were recorded using a questionnaire distributed among adults living in Germany. Differences were tested using a Mann-Whitney U test or Fisher's exact test and correlations were calculated using Spearman's rho. Results were considered significant with a p-value = 0.05 and highly significant with a p-value = 0.001.Results. A total of 316 datasets were evaluated. The statistical procedures revealed a difference in terms of desire to lose weight (p < 0.001), locus of control over the weight (p = 0.014), and assessment of health (p < 0.001). There is also a highly significant association between the amount of physical activity and sport (r(s) = 0.385, p < 0.001). Physical activity is any degree of movement of skeletal muscles which significantly increases the basal metabolic rate. These include routine activities in everyday life, such as household chores or walking short distances at a moderate pace. Therefore, even those who do not do any sport can be physically active. Sport includes activities that are based on structured competitive situations and follow a specific pattern. There is no significant difference between the extent of physical activity and overweight (p = 0.125) and the extent of sport and overweight (p = 0.095).Conclusion. The perception of overweight and obese people of their physical condition as a health risk seems to exist, as there is a desire to lose weight and their health is assessed to be significantly worse. However, physical activity is only a small factor that causes or avoids obesity. It is necessary to research how overweight people can be supported and how the development of obesity can be avoided against the background of the high influence of genetic factors.