Body esteem and enrollment in classes with different levels of physical activity

Differences in self-reported scores on the Body Esteem Scale were recorded for college women and men who participated in classes requiring differing amounts of physical activity. Scores for 116 women and 38 men were compared to scores for 99 college women and 60 college men enrolled in classes requiring vigorous or little physical activity, respectively. The correlation between participation and body esteem was also examined. The Body Esteem Scale was given to the subjects during the first and last weeks of one semester. Multivariate analysis of variance of scores indicated significant differences initially among the two groups of women on three subscales, Sexual Attractiveness, Weight Control, and Physical Condition, while mean over-all scores for body esteem were higher for women in the vigorous activity group than in the comparison group. No significant differences were found at the later testing. For men, no significant differences were obtained at either testing.