Objectives: The aim was to study the body image of Spanish children and adolescents, and the differences in body image according to the quality of diet and the physical activity performed by school children. Methods: A total of 1450 Spanish school children participated (719 boys and 727 girls), between 3 and 18 years of age (11.7 ± 2.5). The body image was measured with the Stunkard silhouettes. The quality of the diet was evaluated using the KIDMED questionnaire. Physical activity was assessed using the PACE questionnaire. Findings: Subjects who did enough physical activity and had a better quality diet had a better body image than those who did not perform physical activity and needed to improve their diet. These differences were significant (p<0.05) by level of physical activity, but not by quality of the diet. Conclusions: The results of this study showed that the quality of the diet and a regular practice of physical activity could be determining factors of body image. It is recommended to carry out intervention programs to improve diet and physical activity and, in consequence, ameliorate the body image of Spanish children and adolescents.
Objectives: The objective of this work was to study the relationship between body image and muscle strength in Spanish children and adolescents. Methods: 230 Spanish school children participated (104 boys and 126 girls), between 3 and 15 years old with an average age of 9.05 ± 3.10 years. The body image was measured by the Stunkard silhouettes. The level of muscular strength was evaluated by manual dynamometry (Takei TKK 5101 dynamometer). The statistical analysis was carried out with SPSS 23.0. Findings: Significant positive correlations were found between the current body image and the level of muscular strength of the dominant side (r = 0.182, p=0.027), non-dominant side (r=0.155, p = 0.002), and average strength (r = 0.171, p = 0.015) of Spanish schoolchildren. According to sex, significant correlations were found between body image and strength in both boys and girls. According to age, the significant correlations between body image and strength were found in the Secondary Education group (12-15 years). Conclusions: The results of this study show that muscle strength can be a determining factor in the perception of body image of children and adolescents. It is recommended to carry out intervention programs with the aim of improving strength, because this will have positive effects on the body image of the participants.
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