Short-Term Effects of Exercise on Body Image

INTRODUCTION: Body image (BI) is a multidimensional construct focused on body’s appearance and function, represent-ing how subjects see, feel, think and behave regarding their bodies (1). Weight dissatisfaction and negative body image are predictors of health-related problems such as depression, weight control and eating disorders. Since the regular practice of physical activity (PA) has physical and psychological health benefits, it could also play a key role in improving BI. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of exercise on BI in physically active adults. METHODS: Twenty-one physically active adults (age:30±12.9yrs; mass:66.4±12.4kg; height:167.6±6.8cm; body mass index (BMI):23.55±3.7kg/m2) participated in the study. Before (pre) and after (post) their individual not structured workout, the Body Image Dimensional Assessment (BIDA) questionnaire (2) was administered. BIDA assesses the subjective and emo-tional dimensions of BI by means of a neutral silhouette-based scale, ranging from 1.8 to 5.2. Participants had to indicate their perceived and ideal body shape, the most appropriate body shape for their peers and the most appreciated body shape by the opposite sex. The Body Dissatisfaction Index (BDI) was estimated through the mean of the absolute values of Body Dissatisfaction, Sexual Body Dissatisfaction and Comparative Body Dissatisfaction. The BDI ranges from 0 to 100AU, with people scoring > 30 considered at risk of BI disorders. At the end of their individual workout, to evaluate the overall exercise intensity, rating of perceived exertion (RPE) was collected using the Borg category-ratio-10 scale. A paired t-test was used to examine the effects of a single workout on BDI. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. RESULTS: The mean RPE at the end of the workout was 6.8±1.9AU indicating a vigorous intensity session. No significant differences (p=0.61) in BDI were found between pre (16.8±3.3AU) and post (17.5±6.9AU) workout. CONCLUSION: Although most BDI participants’ scores changed after the workout, no significant differences emerged between pre and post values. It might be assumed that BI is not immediately affected by a single workout session. Proba-bly, to improve physical wellness and psychological benefits to observe changes in BDI, a longer period of training is required. In addition, the participants’ post exercise responses could have been influenced by the knowledge of their previous answers due to the short time between the pre and post administration. Moreover, since participants had a normal range of BMI and were physically active, future researches could investigate the effect of a single workout session on BI in individuals with different BMI categories or sedentary individuals. References 1. Cash & Smolak, The Guilford Press 2012 2. Segura-García et al. Eat. Weight Disord. 2012