Author:

• Edio Luiz Petroski - Petroski, E.L. - Florianópolis, SC, Santa Catarina - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina - <petroski@cds.ufsc.br>

Thematic Area:

Não Categorizado

Abstract:

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of body image (BI) dissatisfaction in adolescents. Methods: The study enrolled 641 adolescents aged 11 to 17 from the town of Saudades, SC, Brazil. Results: The prevalence of BI dissatisfaction was 60.4% (males = 54.5%, females = 65.7%; p < 0.05). The boys were more likely to wish to increase the size of their body silhouette (26.4%) while the girls wished to reduce theirs (52.4%). Adolescents from urban areas exhibited a greater prevalence of BI dissatisfaction and were more likely to want to reduce their body silhouette size. The reasons given by these adolescents for why they were dissatisfied with their body images were similar for both sexes (p = 0.156). When analyzed by neighborhood the urban adolescents said that their dissatisfaction was esthetic, whereas the rural adolescents said it was based on self-esteem. An association was detected between perceived BI and the reasons for dissatisfaction. Conclusions: Esthetics, self-esteem and health were the most common reasons for BI dissatisfaction among these adolescents. More than half of them were unsatisfied with their body silhouettes. Therefore, there is a need for interventions by health services and professionals during this age range in order top avoid possible future problems with eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia and vigorexia).
Key words: Esthetics, Body image, Self concept

Content:

Access Issue in Scielo

Other languages: