Perception of body image and its association with Body Mass Index (BMI) among college girls in Puducherry.

Abstract

Adolescence is a transition stage when girls start developing positive and negative images regarding their body shape and appearance. It is a period where there is a constant urge among females to get a skinny and slim body shape. These distinguished unreal body shapes are influenced by the mass media and other common cultural idols. As it is important to know the factors affecting their perception, we aimed to determine the proportion of college girls who overestimate/underestimate their body image and also the influence of media, peers and parents in their perception of body image. Total 510 students were selected between 18 and 21years. Standardized self -administered questionnaire such as the FigureRating Scale (FRS) was used to determine the perception of body image among college girls. The FRS consists of schematic silhouette image of nine female from outmost slender to outmost overweight. Data regarding Sociodemographic, Anthropometry and effect of various factors influencing them were also collected. The present study showed that almost 60.2% of the college girls were having correct perception of their body shape. 21.2% of the college girls overestimated their body shape and 18.6% of college girls underestimated their body shape. The perception was significantly influenced by media, parents and peers. The study concluded that almost two in five girls have a misconception of their body shape and it is more influenced by media and family, so encouraging adequate support from their parents and following healthy eating behavior is the need of the hour.