Caloric Intake, Body Image and Its Relationship With Physical Activity In Mexican Adolescents

Abstract

During the adolescent period there is an increased awareness of body image that can lead to dramatic reductions in caloric intake without concomitant changes in habitual physical activity levels PURPOSE: The present study evaluated the perception of body image and its association with caloric intake as well as physical activity in adolescents from Guadalajara, Mexico. METHODS: The subjects were 19 volunteer adolescents (men; n=8 and women; n=11, age=16.5±1.2 years) high school students at the University of Guadalajara system. They were evaluated using a World Health Organization (WHO) life style questionnaire. The questionnaire included sections for the evaluation of body image, habitual physical activity levels and caloric intake. RESULTS: The findings revealed that 50% of subjects were below their age-specific caloric requirements. In relation to body image, 47% reported the desire to change their body “look”. Two thirds (66%) of all subjects, reported that a diet was necessary in order to improve body image, but that they would not follow a diet to accomplish such objective. Only 18% of the women considered that exercise could help in the improvement of their body image, while 75% of the men reported that exercise could help to increase their muscle mass in order to improve body image. Sixty-two % of men and 45% of the women reported that diet and exercise were necessary to improve body image. Regarding habitual physical activity, 68% reported at least 20 minutes of physical activity once a week. CONCLUSION: Within the limitations of a small sample size, we conclude that the present findings do not provide support to the hypothesis of association between perception of body image, caloric intake and physical activity levels in adolescents from Guadalajara, Mexico.