Relationships of Body Image, Body Stress and Eating Attitude, and Dietary Quality in Middle School Girls Based on Their BMI

Abstract

This study investigated the body image, body stress, eating attitude, and dietary quality in middle school girls. Questionnaires were administered to one hundred fifty seven middle school girls in Seoul area. The subjects were categorized into the five groups according to their body mass index (BMI); 1) severely under-weight (BMI ), 2) under-weight (16.5 BMI ), 3) normal weight (18.5 BM I ), 4) overweight (23.0 BMI ), and 5) obese (BMI 25 ). 7.0%, 14.6%, 58.9%, 10.2%, and 10.2% of the subjects were classified as severely under-weight, under-weight, normal weight, overweight and obese groups, respectively. Regardless of the BMI, the subjects had disturbed body image, body stress, and poor eating attitude. The actual BMIs of the normal weight, overweight and obese subjects were significantly different from their desired BMI and perceived BMI, representing these subjects dissatisfied their body shape. Almost all subjects tried to lose their body weight even in the severely under-weight and under-weight groups. There were significant correlations of BMI with body image disturbance (p