Body image, body composition and environment: do they affect adolescents' physical activity?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Adolescent Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Adolescents often fall short of recommended physical activity (PA) levels.
• Body image and composition are potential facilitators of PA and environment-related factors.
• Limited evidence exists on the interplay between body-related factors, environment, and adolescent PA.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess associations between adolescents' PA and body-related (body image, composition) and environment-related factors.
• To determine if these associations differ by age and gender.
• To investigate potential interactions between these factors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from 888 Slovak adolescents (ages 11-15) from the 2018 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study.
• Employed multinomial logistic regression to analyze associations.
• Considered body image, body composition, PA-promoting environment, and leisure constraints, adjusting for age and gender.

Main Results:

• Positive body perception (not too fat) and healthy weight were associated with higher PA levels.
• Perceiving fewer leisure constraints also correlated with increased PA.
• Associations were more pronounced in older adolescents and girls, with significant interactions observed.

Conclusions:

• Adolescent physical activity is significantly associated with both body-related perceptions/composition and environmental factors.
• These associations are amplified in girls and older adolescents.
• Interventions should consider body image and environmental influences to enhance youth PA.