Health behaviours and body image of girls in the second phase of adolescence

Abstract

<b>Background</b><br /> The concept of body image was introduced by Paul Schilder, who recognised that this is a picture of our own body, which we create in our mind and which is the way in which the body is revealed to us. He proposed a definition centred around the cognitive aspect and assumed the relative stability of this structure. However, he highlighted the fact that the body image may be shaped by various experiences, and thus an individual can modify his own body image during life.<br /> <br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> The study group consisted of 112 high school students aged 17 and 18 years. The study was conducted from March to June 2014 in Poland. Techniques: The Body Esteem Scale (BES) by S. Franzoi and S. Shields was used for the purpose of the research. The scale is used to study body image. The second tool used in the research was the Health Behaviour Inventory (HBI) by Z. Juczyński. Although the standards are set for adults, the same tool is frequently used in research among youth.<br /> <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> It was found that only the overall health behaviour indicator correlates with body evaluation. The higher the overall health behaviour indicator was, the higher was body evaluation among the girls involved in the study. However, no significant correlation was found between body mass index (BMI) and overall body evaluation.<br /> <br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> The research demonstrated that the body image of adolescent girls significantly correlates with their health care to a large extent and with the desire to be slim to a lesser extent. This is a very positive result considering the idea of a healthy lifestyle.