Table 1.
Demographic characteristics according to weight loss information seeking on the internet
| Demographic characteristics | Internet use to seek weight loss information | P value* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sought (n=1181) | Did not seek (n=1874) | ||
| Age, yr, mean(±SD) | 20.9 (2.4) | 20.8 (2.5) | .436 |
| Race/ethnicity (%) | |||
| White | 382 (32.7) | 495 (26.6) | .002 |
| Black | 288 (24.6) | 494 (26.6) | |
| Hispanic | 500 (42.7) | 871 (46.8) | |
| Marital status (%) | |||
| Never married | 710 (60.4) | 1092 (58.7) | .129 |
| Living together/currently married | 399 (34.0) | 687 (36.9) | |
| Divorced/ separated/widowed | 66 (5.6) | 83 (4.5) | |
| Education (%) | |||
| Did not complete HS | 145 (12.3) | 425 (23.2) | <.001 |
| HS graduate/enrolled in HS | 573 (48.6) | 1003 (54.8) | |
| Some college/ college degree | 460 (39.1) | 404 (22.1) | |
| Income/year (%) | |||
| < $15,000 | 591 (54.3) | 981 (60.1) | .005 |
| $15,000–$29,999 | 314 (28.8) | 424 (26.0) | |
| $30,000–$49,999 | 114 (10.5) | 160 (9.8) | |
| $50,000 and above | 70 (6.4) | 68 (4.2) | |
| Work (hours/week) (%) | |||
| Do not work | 575 (48.8) | 1069 (57.4) | <.001 |
| 1–20 hours/week | 128 (10.9) | 186 (10.0) | |
| 21 hours or more | 475 (40.3) | 607 (32.6) | |
| BMI (%) | |||
| Normal weight (<25 kg/m2) | 340 (29.9) | 1088 (60.2) | <.001 |
| Overweight (25–29.9 kg/m2) | 322 (28.3) | 403 (22.3) | |
| Obese (>30 kg/m2) | 476 (41.8) | 317 (17.5) | |
*
x2 test used to compare proportions of given variables between seekers and non-seekers, except age, which used Student’s t test for comparison of means.