Abstract
Aging leads to psychological losses and various physical changes that, associated with body-stereotyped patterns imposed by society, can cause disturbances in the body image perception (BIP) in the elderly. The aim of this study was to evaluate BIP in older adults living in the city of Campina Grande / PB and its relationship with different anthropometric and body composition indicators. This cross-sectional study was carried out with older adults of both sexes enrolled in the Family Health Strategy of Campina Grande, PB. BIP was considered as a dependent variable and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), triceps skinfold (TSF), and arm fat area (AFA) as independent variables. The association between BIP and anthropometric indicators was verified using the Pearson chi-square test (X²), simple and multiple logistic regression, with significance level of p <0.05. Overall, 420 older adults were interviewed (68.1% women), of whom 409 reported their actual body image perception. Regarding the perception of idealized body image, 11 individuals did not respond and 230 were satisfied, since 179 desired another silhouette. Individuals with BMI indicative of overweight / obesity were more likely of showing body image dissatisfaction compared to those with normal weight. Subjects with excessive TSF showed greater body image dissatisfaction in relation to those with normal weight. Women were more likely of showing body image dissatisfaction. Thus, it was observed that variables BMI, TSF and sex were independently associated with body image satisfaction.
Highlights
The aging process leads to progressive changes in functional, motor, psychological and social aspects[1]
It is possible to observe that the highest proportion of older adults dissatisfied with their body image were overweight / obese (63.9%), inadequate waist circumference (WC) (61.0%), excess triceps skinfold (TSF) (60.0%) and excess arm fat area (AFA) (59.7%)
It was observed that body mass index (BMI), TSF and sex were variables independently associated with body image dissatisfaction
Summary
The aging process leads to progressive changes in functional, motor, psychological and social aspects[1]. The natural decline of the functions of all physiological systems, common in advanced age, may limit the coding capacity of stimuli coming from the sensory system (vision, touch, proprioception), interfering with the body’s awareness and mental structuring of the individual over his own body - called body image[2]. Body image can suffer serious distortions in these individuals subject to society pressures. In view of the complexity in the detection of these disorders, some results point to the need for further studies in this area in order to better understand the aging process and body self-perception[3,6]
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