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Monday, November 2, 2009: 4:10 PM
Learning Objective 1: describe the relationship between self perception of actual body image and body mass index in a group of children.
Learning Objective 2: explain the relationship between self perception of ideal body image and body mass index in a group of children.
The purpose of this study was to: (1) determine the prevalence of children at risk for overweight and overweight, (2) examine the relationship between self perception of both actual and ideal body image to body mass index (BMI) and (3) to explore body dissatisfaction in a group of urban, lower socioeconomic children participating in an after school program. The design was a cross sectional descriptive, correlational study of male and female children between the ages of 9 and 13 years who were involved in an after school program. Each child was weighed and their height measured. Date of birth and gender was recorded. This information was then used to calculate BMI and BMI percentile on age specific growth charts using the CDC online calculator. Each child was then asked to identify their actual body image and ideal body image on a body image scale. This scale was developed by Truby and Paxton (2002) to determine body size dissatisfaction in Australian children and was used with permission. Data analysis included descriptive statistics to determine the prevalence of at risk for overweight and overweight children. Pearson’s r was used to examine: (1) the relationship between actual body image and ideal body image (2) the relationship between actual body image and BMI and between ideal body image and BMI. This presentation will discuss the prevalence of obesity, an ongoing health concern for children, in a group of urban, lower socioeconomic children participating in an after school program. It will also explore a child’s perception of their actual to ideal body image as well as compare actual and ideal body image to BMI in order to help health care providers understand how children perceive themselves.