Combined effect of different factors on weight status and cardiometabolic risk in Italian adolescents

Assessing the Relationship between Body Image Satisfaction and Physical Activity in Italian Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Investigation

BACKGROUND

Body image perception can significantly influence various aspects of adolescent lives. The study analyzed the relationship between body image satisfaction and sports participation in adolescents, examining various factors that contribute to body image concerns and their implications for sports engagement.

METHODS

A total of 237 schoolchildren were recruited from lower secondary Italian schools. Anthropometric characteristics were measured directly. Assessment of body image perception was performed using Body Silhouette Charts for preadolescent children. The Italian version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents questionnaire was administered to assess physical activity (PA) levels at school and during leisure time in the last 7 days. Analysis of variance was used to test differences in PA levels, while multiple regression models were carried out to assess possible predictors of body dissatisfaction.

RESULTS

In total, 42.6% of children were not satisfied with their figure and 23.2% were very dissatisfied; among them, the vast majority would have liked to be thinner. The dissatisfaction and satisfaction were similar in boys and girls. The frequency of satisfaction with one's body image was higher in children who practiced extracurricular sports compared to those who did not. The percentage of dissatisfaction with one's body image was similar in the two groups, but the frequency of children being very dissatisfied was double in the group that does not practice extracurricular sport (31.2% vs. 17.7%). Body dissatisfaction increases with increasing body mass index in both genders but decreases in children involved in extracurricular sports.

CONCLUSIONS

Encouraging teenagers to engage in regular physical activity should be a key component of therapies supporting positive body image. This study found a relationship between extracurricular sports and body image satisfaction, suggesting that physical activity protects teenagers' body image satisfaction.

Body Image Perception in High School Students: The Relationship with Gender, Weight Status, and Physical Activity

Body image perception includes body size assessment, body desirability estimation, and perceptions concerning one’s own body shape and size. Adolescence is a period of intense and prompt physical transformation, which changes the perception of one’s body. This represents a critical period for the development of body image. Therefore, the present cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate body image perception and investigate the relationships between it, weight status, sex, and physical activity in a sample of high school students living in Italy. General demographic information and details about physical activity were collected. Body image perception was measured with a body silhouette and two indexes were calculated: the FID (Feel minus Ideal Discrepancy) to evaluate the discrepancy between the perceived current figure and the ideal figure; and the FAI (Feel weight status minus Actual weight status Inconsistency) to observe improper perception of weight status. In addition, body shape concerns were evaluated with the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), in which participants reported the frequency of experiencing negative thoughts about their body shape in the last four weeks. Two hundred and four students were included in the study (155 = female, mean age = 17.13 ± 1.70; 49 = male, mean age = 17.25 ± 1.69). Females felt more concerned about body shape than males (χ2 = 11.347, p = 0.001). Distinctions emerged in terms of body mass index, the scores of Feel minus Ideal Discrepancy (FID), Feel weight status minus Actual weight status Inconsistency (FAI), the Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and of the silhouette mean comparisons due to sex, weight status, and PA interaction effects (p < 0.001). Additionally, 94% of the BSQ variability could be explained by sex, weight status, and PA. Although no direct effects were observed on body image perception, healthy habit promotion, such as physical activity, could positively affect adolescent lives.

An Interaction Path of Mothers' and Preschoolers' Food- and Physical Activity-Related Aspects in Disadvantaged Sicilian Urban Areas

Background: The relationship between mothers and their children’s lifestyle is still unclear, especially in disadvantaged areas. Consequently, the study aims to identify a path explaining the extent to which maternal eating habits and physical activity (PA) level predict food-related aspects, PA practice and Quotient of Gross Motor Development (QGMD) in preschoolers from disadvantaged urban areas. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 79 dyads of mothers and children were recruited from kindergartens. Information related to family socio-demographic aspects, mothers’ and children’s dietary intake frequencies and PA/sedentariness, mothers’ weight and height, mothers’ perception on children’s food intake, and children’s food literacy (FL) was collected with a questionnaire and the Food Literacy Assessment Tool (preschool-FLAT), while gross-motor skills were measured with the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD); weight and height of children were directly collected. Results: Associations were found between mothers’ and children’s food habits; mothers’ and children’s fruit/vegetables consumption, and intake of the other items; mothers’ education or PA level and children’s FL; mothers’ PA or sedentariness and children’s QGMD; mothers’ BMI and food habits and children’s BMI; education and food habits. Conclusions: These findings can be useful to plan effective interventions targeted both to preschoolers and their mothers of disadvantaged urban areas for promoting healthy lifestyles, which have become increasingly difficult to achieve during COVID-19 pandemic.

Isotemporal substitution of sedentary behavior for physical activity on cardiorespiratory fitness in children and adolescents

Both sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) are associated with cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and independent of each other. Due to the limited time during school for children and adolescents, it is necessary to explore the isotemporal substitution of SB for PA on CRF.A total 536 eligible participants selected from the 7 traditional administrative regions of China were included in this study. The outcome was CRF, determined using a 20-meter shuttle run test, and exposures were SB, light physical activity (LPA), and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) measured with accelerometers. We analyzed the cross-sectional associations of substituting SB with LPA, MVPA, and combinations of LPA and MVPA with CRF, using an isotemporal substitution model.Reallocating SB into MVPA was associated with higher CRF for male (P < .01) and female (P < .01) children and female adolescents (P < .05). In the mixed redistribution, the ratio of LPA to MVPA for male children and female adolescents started from 16:4 and 14:6, respectively, tended toward improvements in CRF. For female children, regardless of the ratio of LPA to MVPA, it was always associated with higher CRF.Reallocating SB into MVPA isotemporally was positively associated with CRF for male and female children and female adolescents but not for male adolescents. MVPA is the key factor to improve CRF when combinations of LPA and MVPA replace SB. The combined approach can provide basis for the selection of target and monitoring variables in intervention studies, and has more flexible choices for improving CRF that are more consistent with the daily PA habits of children and adolescents.