[Body weight perception and dieting behaviour in Spanish population]. / Percepción del peso corporal y medidas adoptadas para su control en población española.

INTRODUCTION: A high percentage of the population initiate or keep diets to lose weight independently of suffering or not overweight/obesity. Nevertheless, exists a great unknowledge on the more convenient guidelines to achieve this aim. OBJECTIVE: To analyze weight perception and types of behavior to control the corporal weight in Spanish adults in order to be able to start the campaigns most adapted to provide a correct nutritional information to the population. METHODS: 2,168 subjects (18 +/- 50 years) of 5 Spanish provinces were studied. Anthropometric and information about the worry about corporal weight data was obtained. RESULTS: 65.6% of subjects declare a desire to lose weight and 44.9% have followed diets with this purpose in some moment (especially in female population). 63.9% of subjects increase physical activity to control weight, 23.9% consumes dietetic products or medicinal herbs and 48.0% compensate the excesses when they try to lose weight. Sweets (24.5%), fats (15.4%), pastries (11.4%) and bread (11.4%) are avoided and fruits and vegetables consumption is increased (specially by women) when try to lose weight. CONCLUSIONS: Weight loss practices use to be inadequate due to the desire to lose weight quickly and to the unknowledge about the most adecuate diet to achieve this aim. It is necessary to avoid this type of practices and to improve the knowledge on nutrition in the population.