Imagem corporal e obesidade em universitários de Juiz de Fora-MG

Abstract

An obesity epidemic is currently noticed among society. Since the stereotype of beauty is characterized by having a thin body, being obese can lead to a negative body image regarding one’s own body. This study aims at evaluating body image and obesity among students of a private higher education institution, in the city of Juiz de Fora, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This is characterized as being a quantitative, cross-sectional study. Therefore, this study was divided into two stages: first, an initial screening was performed on the students of the institution in order to determine which of these were obese; in the second stage, the following instruments were applied to the obese individuals: Silhouette Scale Figures, BSQ, BCQ, MBCQ, BDI and IPAQ validated for the adult population. These instruments assessed both the current and the ideal body images, body dissatisfaction, body checking behaviors in women and men, depression and level of physical activity, respectively. Demographic and anthropometric data were also collected. A total of 2,376 students participated in the first stage of the study. As for the second stage, 199 students classified as being obese took part in the study, based on the self-reported BMI collected in the first stage. High internal consistency coefficients were noticed regarding the questionnaires used. Overall, the results of the first stage of this study show a low percentage of obese students. As for the second stage, results showed reliability in terms of the self-reported data for height, although a tendency to underestimate body mass in both genders was noticed. The characterization of the sample showed high rates of obesity among women, as well as high consumption of alcohol and soft drinks. In addition, a high percentage of obese individuals was noticed within the family, as well as treatments for weight loss, perception of poor health, pain and inactivity. These results showed unhealthy habits among the obese individuals. There was a statistically significant difference in the mean values when comparing the currently perceived and ideal body images. These results showed body dissatisfaction in both genders. Both satisfied and dissatisfied obese individuals had the same body image perception. High magnitude was noticed regarding the size of the difference between the current and the ideal body images. A strong correlation was shown between body dissatisfaction and depression. Obese individuals dissatisfied with their body images have a high degree of depression (p <0.001). The results of this study showed that obese individuals dissatisfied with their body images have more pain, spend more time performing sitting activities, present the lowest amount of physical activities and have the highest values for body checking behaviors. As for the results of the IPAQ instrument, a negative correlation was shown with body dissatisfaction. The more active the individual, the less dissatisfied they will be with their body image. Thus, the results of this study indicate the need for guiding obese students towards a healthy lifestyle, as well as providing them with physical activity programs aimed at reducing their overweight and depression. It also suggests further research binding body image, physical inactivity and depression caused by obesity among the individuals in general.