The Relationship among Body Mass Index, Body Image, Exercise Habits and Stage of Change in College-Aged Females

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body mass index (BMI), body image perception, physical activity habits, and exercise stage of change in college-aged females. Volunteers (N = 134) completed a survey of demographics, Stage of Exercise Scale (SOES; Cardinal, 1995a; Card...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women in sport & physical activity journal 2002-09, Vol.11 (2), p.1-19
Main Authors: Burger, Molly, Dolny, Dennis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Body image
Body mass index
College sports
Exercise
Health
Health aspects
Health care
Personal appearance
Physical fitness
Physiological aspects
Preventive medicine
Psychological aspects
Recreation
Self image
Social conditions & trends
Society
Sports
Statistics
Women
Women college students
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Summary:The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among body mass index (BMI), body image perception, physical activity habits, and exercise stage of change in college-aged females. Volunteers (N = 134) completed a survey of demographics, Stage of Exercise Scale (SOES; Cardinal, 1995a; Cardinal, 1995b), Physical Activity History questionnaire (PAH; Jacobs, Hahn, Haskell, Pirie, & Sidney, 1989), and Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ; Cooper, Taylor, Cooper, & Fairburn, 1987). Participants were categorized into five exercise stages of change: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Relationships between the variables were analyzed with Pearson r correlations. Kruskal-Wallis independence tests were also used for analyses. Approximately 60% of the participants reported current physical inactivity or irregular exercise. BMI and body image score were significantly linearly related, with higher body mass indicating more negative body image (r = 30, p
ISSN:1063-6161
1938-1581
DOI:10.1123/wspaj.11.2.1