Relation Between Daily Self-Weighing and Physique, Lifestyle Factors, and Glycemic Parameters in Japanese College Students

Background: The impact of self-weighing on young adults attending college has not been fully clarified. The present study aimed to examine self-weighing behavior and associated gender differences in Japanese college students and investigate the relation between habitual daily self-weighing and physique, lifestyle factors and glycemic parameters. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated data from a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) that was performed during clinical training of medical students between 2010 and 2014. Information concerning physique (e.g. body weight and waist circumference) and a lifestyle-focused questionnaire were completed before the OGTT. Participants comprised 441 fifth-grade university students (279 males and 162 females) from the Oita University Faculty of Medicine. Results: A total of 26.8% of participants were habitual self-weighers. Females were significantly more likely to engage in habitual self-weighing than males. There were no significant differences in glucose metabolism between individuals who regularly weighed themselves and those who did not in either gender. Factors related to the performance of daily self-weighing were not skipping breakfast in males and regular exercise in females. Conclusions: Although there was no meaningful relation between habitual self-weighing and glucose metabolism in this study, eating breakfast regularly and exercising regularly independently promoted self-weighing behavior in males and females, respectively. These findings suggest that these common practices may be helpful for college students as a method to encourage habitual daily self-weighing, consequently providing a healthy environment in college life to prevent potential obesity-related diseases. J Endocrinol Metab. 2020;10(1):8-15 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jem633