The effects of objective body type and subjective body image on self-perceived oral health by sex

Objectives: This study compares and analyzes the effects of objective body mass index (BMI) and subjective body image on self-perceived oral health among Korean adults based on sex differences.Methods: Raw data were obtained from the 7th (2016-2018), 8th (2019), and 9th (2022) Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys.The study included 24,817 adults, with objective body type and subjective body image as the independent variables and self-perceived oral health status as the dependent variable.The results were analyzed by sex using complex sample logistic regression analysis with IBM SPSS Statistics.Results: An analysis of the impact of objective body type on poor self-perceived oral health status showed no significant difference for males, whereas the odds ratio was significant for females, with objective obesity at 1.167 (P<0.001).An analysis of the effect of subjective body image on poor self-perceived oral health status revealed that the odds ratio was significant for males with subjective obesity (OR 1.482, P<0.001).For females, the odds ratio was 1.225 for subjective overweight and 1.379 for subjective obesity, indicating that females were significantly more likely to perceive their oral health as poor (P<0.001).Conclusions: Both males and females were more influenced by subjective body image than objective body type, and females were more sensitive than males to the impact of body type on their self-perceived oral health status.Although males were generally less sensitive about their body type, they were more likely than females to perceive their oral health negatively.