A Study of Perception about Body Image in Adolescent Females: In Daegu City / 대한지역사회영양학회지

ABSTRACT

This study was conducted to find adolescent females perception of body image. The survey was carried out by self-questionnaires with 463 female school and college students in Daegu. Analysis of data was done using t-test, and ANOVA with the SAS computer program. The average height, weight and BMI of the subjects were 161.2cm, 53.4kg and 20.51kg/m2. It appeared that 33.3% of the subjects were off the normal range of body weight ; in particular 25.1% of the subjects were under weight. While the subjects' perception of their own current body image was not distorted, they were dissatisfied with their body image because they wanted a very thin figure. Subjects were divided into 3 groups -underweight, normal weight, overweight-according to their current body size. Their perceptions of ideal and desired figures differed significantly between the groups, but they thought a thinner figure than normal body image as ideal and desired body image even in overweight group. As a result, dissatisfaction of body image in the overweight group was significantly larger than the normal-weight group, and that of the normal-weight group was larger than the underweight group. Percentages of weight control attempt were 51.7% and 64.7% in the normal weight and underweight subjects, respectively. Subjects were divided into 2 groups according to their weight control experience those who have attempted, and who have not attempted. Weight control attemptees had a higher level of dissatisfaction with their body image than non-attemptees, both because weight control attemptees were fatter, and they perceived a thinner figure as an ideal and as a desired body image thin non-attemptees. From the results of this study, we confirmed that one of reasons of excessive weight control behavior among adolescent females was distorted perception about ideal body image.