Brief Report: Body Dissatisfaction, Weight Criticism, and Self-Reported Physical Activity in Preadolescent Children

Abstract

Objective To examine the associations among physical activity, weight criticism during physical activity, and body dissatisfaction in a sample of pre-adolescent children. Methods A community sample of 376 fifth- and sixth-grade students (M age = 10.8, SD = 0.65) completed measures of physical activity, weight criticism during physical activity, and body dissatisfaction. Results Girls who reported experiencing high levels of weight criticism and high body dissatisfaction engaged in significantly fewer vigorous activities than girls who experienced criticism in the absence of body dissatisfaction. These results were not evident among boys. Conclusions These findings highlight the importance of body dissatisfaction in girls' propensity to engage in physical activity, and lend preliminary support to obesity prevention efforts that address body dissatisfaction and weight criticism among girls.