Influence Of Menarche On Perception, Dimension And Body Image Of Active And Insufficiently Active Girls

Abstract

Menarche causes body changes such as increased body fat and classic changes occur in secondary sexual characteristics. In this way due to body changes, the body perception also needs to be adjusted. The regular practice of physical activity has been considered a key element to improve the perception of size and body image in different populations, however, to our knowledge, the association between menarche and the level of physical activity in perception of the dimension and of the body image still unexplored. PURPOSE: Verify the influence of menarche in the perception of the dimension and the body image of active and inactive girls. METHODS: After the approval of the São Judas Tadeu University Research Ethics Committee, thirty-eight girls were distributed into two groups active and insufficiently active subjects and analyzed semiannually by 2,5 years by identification before and after menarche. Anthropometric parameters (height, body weight and body mass index), perceptions of body size (using the Image Marking Procedure) and body image (silhouettes scale) were used as evaluation parameters. RESULTS: After menarche, all the girls in both groups presented alteration (p <0.05) only in the anthropometric parameters and in the body perception index of the hip after the menarche. No significant changes were identified (p> 0.05) between groups. CONCLUSION: menarche induced anthropometric alterations and perception of the hip dimension, but without promoting changes in the general perception of the body, as well as in the indication of the silhouettes and in the corporal satisfaction regardless of the level of activity physical.