Perceived overweight, physical activity, and quality of life in childhood
| Project Management: | Prof. Dr. Elke Grimminger-Seidensticker Jun.Prof. Dr. Jörg Trojan |
| Collaborators: | Johanna Korte Dr. Aiko Möhwald |
| Client: | Baden-Württemberg Foundation |
| Duration: | 2015 - 2016 |
Goals and contents
Perceived overweight or body dissatisfaction represents a developmental risk in adolescence, especially for girls, as it is associated with a variety of psychosocial and health-related stresses. The desire to be thinner despite normal weight is mainly associated with (sub-)clinical eating disorders, depression and lower perceived quality of life. The relationship between body dissatisfaction and physical activity, or the influence of physical activity on body satisfaction, has not yet been investigated for adolescence or childhood. The project "Perceived overweight, sports activity and quality of life in childhood" addressed this problem and attempted to generate correlation knowledge about body dissatisfaction and various factors in childhood, such as sports activity, quality of life and subclinical eating disorders. A total of N = 824 children (n = 413 boys; n = 411 girls) aged between 7 and 12 years (MW = 9.21 years) participated in the study. The children completed a comprehensive questionnaire and completed parts of the German Motor Test, which included reliable and objective measurements of their height and body weight. To capture the construct 'felt overweight', the objectively recorded anthropometric data were related to the subjective self-report of the children's perception of their own body weight. Children who are normal or underweight but dissatisfied with their weight and wish they were thinner are considered to be 'perceived overweight'. Approximately one quarter (N = 145) of the normal or underweight children examined can be assigned to the group of 'perceived overweight'. Significantly more girls (N = 86) than boys (N = 59) are affected by 'perceived overweight'. Normal-weight children who are satisfied with their weight (N = 421) and are referred to as 'realists', as well as children with actual overweight (N = 153) serve as a contrasting group. First explorative results show that children with felt overweight have a significantly lower quality of life compared to the group of 'realists', but also compared to the actually overweight children. Moreover, perceived overweight children show significantly more pronounced restrained eating behaviors than `realists' and actually overweight children. Both results provide evidence for the psycho-social and health developmental risk of perceived overweight in childhood. Regarding their sport activity in the sports club and their sport motor skills, the perceived overweight children do not differ from the `realists'. The actually overweight children differ respectively from the `realists' as well as from the perceived overweight children. Consequently, the context of sports is equally frequented by perceived overweight children, but they differ in their motives to participate in sports: Children with perceived overweight, in contrast to the `realists', are more likely to participate in sports for health and fitness reasons. Furthermore, perceived overweight children show greater sport-related concerns than 'realists' and significantly more often prefer sport didactic settings in which central basic needs such as autonomy, belonging and safety are fulfilled. In perspective, it is necessary to clarify these present results on physical education and the meaning of physical activity in more depth.