1. NOV
09
Topic: Weight Control & Healthy Eating
NM 3220 Practical Suggestions
DW 3
Presented By:
Chang Yi Ping Hilda U071902L
Lim Xiu Yan Jacqueline U072097W
Md Khairul Azmi B Suhaimi U071772M
Tan Soo Huay U072688Y
Teo Qi Ling U072726X

2. Practical Suggestions for HPB
People practising weight control may not necessarily use healthy methods to do so. Among
female NUS undergraduates, it was discovered that 67.3% are controlling their weight.
However, instead of using healthy eating as their weight control method, female
undergraduates were found to skip meals, starve or avoid food from certain food groups in
order to maintain or lose weight, thus compromising on a balanced diet. According to our
findings, there is a negative relationship between NUS female undergraduates’ intention to
control weight and their frequency of healthy eating practices. This situation might be
worsened due to the recent obesity prevention campaigns by HPB. In a bid to lose weight,
people might turn to extreme measures to lose weight. This research has identified three areas
that predict intention to control weight, which are attitude towards weight control, subjective
norms (which are social factors) and self-efficacy.
This research has also shown that weight-controlling females have a positive attitude towards
healthy eating as a method of weight control. This presents HPB with an opportunity to
leverage on the favourable attitudes. For instance, HPB can launch a campaign to educate
female tertiary students on healthy weight control methods and most importantly, promote
the use of healthy eating as their weight control method.
Subjective norms, or social factors, were found to be the strongest predictor of the intention
to control weight. It was also discovered that weight-controlling females tend to seek
approval from people important to them when it comes to weight control. This implies that
messages targeted at people who are important to the weight-controlling females might prove
effective to influence and drive weight-controlling females to adopt healthy eating as their

3. weight control methods. There should be informational print and web publications and
broadcast advertisements highlighting the consequences of unhealthy or extreme dietary
weight control methods for example gastric problems, eating disorder and depression.
According to our findings, sports instructors, parents, and friends are identified as having the
greatest power to influence or disapprove of female tertiary students’ unhealthy dietary
weight control methods. Messages tailored could take the form of "Say Yes to Healthy
Weight Control". We hope that through word-of-mouth, these messages could be bring across
to the female undergraduates more effectively.
Self-efficacy was found to be another significant predictor of the intention to control weight.
Findings of the present study showed that weight-controlling females are dissatisfied with
their weight control methods though these methods are healthy because results of weight loss
are not instantaneous. There is an urgent need to discourage the weight-controlling females
from adopting extreme measures like starving because losing weight does not happen
overnight. This can be done by assuring them that healthy weight control methods may not
show instant results but they can look forward to long-term benefits. Since they already
perceive themselves to be in control of their weight, HPB's message can be tailored that they
have the ability to make the right choice when selecting weight control methods. As such, we
can portray the right choice of weight control methods as healthy dietary habits. The message
could take the form of "I Can Control My Weight Healthily", "I am Confident of Healthy
Weight Loss" and "Make the Right Choice". The messages should be accompanied by
statistics of successful weight control methods or testimonials from successful weight-losing
females. These messages have to be reinforced with information on the healthy weight
control methods and healthy dieting. Examples include the appropriate proportions of food
from each food group in order to lose weight, or the healthy weight loss range of 1kg per

4. month. Recommended media channels to disseminate the messages include newspaper
editorial (which female NUS students have ranked as their most frequent source of weight
control advices) and magazine articles (ranked second).
Attitude towards weight control was also found to be a significant predictor of the intention
to control weight. Findings of the present study revealed that female undergraduates perceive
weight control as beneficial but not enjoyable or pleasant. There is a need to portray weight
control as not as enjoyable as they believe it to be. The findings of the present study also
reveal that the perception of healthy eating as a weight control method being 'pleasant' has
the highest correlation towards the overall attitude towards healthy eating. According to the
theory of planned behavior, attitude towards a behavior is likely to predict the intention for a
behavior which in turn predicts the actual behavior. Hence improving the perception of
healthy eating as a weight control method as 'pleasant' will increase the overall attitude
towards healthy eating as a weight control method. To do so, HPB should debunk any
misconception that healthy food is not delicious. We suggest HPB to provide examples and
information of healthy and delicious food. For instance, providing a database of food stalls
that sell healthy food. In addition, our group also recommends HPB to give out recipe
booklets to every household, explaining how to prepare healthy, nutritious and low-fat, lot
calories meals. By doing so, people who want to control their weight may adopt these healthy
recipes instead of extreme measures as their weight control methods.