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- Title
Body shape perceptions, attitudes toward physical education, and physical activity levels of middle school students.
- Authors
Ryan, Stu; Todorovich, John R.; Bridges, F. Stephen; Mokgwathiand, Martin M.
- Abstract
Body image research has shown gender differences in adults, and recent reports indicate increasing numbers of inactive youth. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze body shape perceptions of middle school students with enjoyment of Physical Education and physical activity levels. A questionnaire on activity levels and Physical Education was administered along with a figure scale for body shape perceptions. Data was collected from 994 middle school students between ages 11 and 16 in NW Florida, in which 55% of the respondents were Caucasian, 51% were females, and 62% were 12 and 13 years old. Overall, 67% indicated that they enjoyed Physical Education class. Interestingly, of the 334 respondents who did not indicate that they enjoyed Physical Education, 79% of them indicated that they exercised regularly. Only 12% of all respondents were not regular exercisers. On a figure scale of 1 (very thin) to 9 (very round), the average female response was 4.4 for current body shape, while the males identified themselves as 5.6. Overall, this was a non-significant difference, as were the gender differences for Caucasians and African-Americans. However, the Hispanics (F=3.5, M=5.5) and Asians (F=3.7, M=5.4) had significant differences between genders. There was no significant interaction between current body shape and enjoyment of Physical Education. For the 117 respondents that did not exercise, the male respondents indicated being "too lazy" and "other," while the female explanations were "too tired" and "didn't like it." Between ages 14 and 15, there was an inflection point in the linear increase in the percentage of respondents that were not regular exercisers with age. Thus, implications from this study suggest that the early teenage years may be the pivotal time in which many youth become non-exercisers.
- Subjects
FLORIDA; PHYSICAL education; BODY image; MIDDLE school students; PHYSICAL education for youth; PSYCHOLOGY
- Publication
International Journal of Fitness, 2009, Vol 5, Issue 2, p21
- ISSN
0973-2152
- Publication type
Article