text: Weight Loss Body Size Comparison
  Obesity Levels and Body Image in Tonga
  Body Size Comparison, Australians & Tongans
  Obesity levels in Tonga are high and increasing. Attempts to address this issue would be aided by a realistic concept of current and preferred body sizes. In this study, body size perception in Tongans was compared with that of Australians.
  542 Tongans, 89 of whom were enrolled in a weight-loss program; 481 Australians.
  Subjects were weighed and measured. Two series of photographs (one female, one male), representing specific body mass indexes (BMIs) were used to assess body perception.
  The BMIs of the Tongans were higher than those of the Australians. Tongan women underestimated their body size; Tongan men and Australians overestimated. Weight-loss program and younger Tongan women preferred smaller body sizes for themselves and for men and women in general. There were gender differences in preferred healthy and attractive female sizes and male sizes chosen by Tongans. Preferred, attractive and healthy body sizes chosen by Australian men and women were similar.
  Tongans preferred larger body sizes than did Australians, particularly the men, but weight-loss program women's preferences were similar to those of Australians. There is evidence that preferences are changing in Tonga with time, and probably with increasing Western influence.