Changes In Actual And Perceived Physical Abilities In Clinically Obese Children: A 9-Month Multi-Component Intervention Study

Abstract

Objectives(1) To examine relationships among changes in physical activity, physical fitness and some psychosocial determinants of activity behavior in a clinical sample of obese children involved in a multi-component program; (2) to investigate the causal relationship over time between physical activity and one of its strongest correlates (i.e. perceived physical ability).MethodsSelf-reported physical activity and health-related fitness tests were administered before and after a 9-month intervention in 24 boys and 20 girls aged 8 to 11 years. Individuals’ perceptions of strength, speed and agility were assessed using the Perceived Physical Ability Scale, while body image was measured using Collins’ Child Figure Drawings.ResultsFindings showed that body mass index, physical activity, performances on throwing and weight-bearing tasks, perceived physical ability and body image significantly improved after treatment among obese children. Gender differences were found in the correlational analyses, showing a link between actual and perceived physical abilities in boys, but not in girls. For the specific measurement interval of this study, perception of physical ability was an antecedent and not a potential consequence of physical activity.ConclusionsResults indicate that a multi-component activity program not based merely on a dose-effect approach enhances adherence of the participants and has the potential to increase the lifelong exercise skills of obese children. Rather than focusing entirely on diet and weight loss, findings support the inclusion of interventions directed toward improving perceived physical ability that is predictive of subsequent physical activity.

Pediatric obesity treatment, self‐esteem, and body image: A systematic review with meta‐analysis

“…The change in body image between pre‐intervention and postintervention was reported in 27 studies, between pre‐intervention and follow‐up in three studies, and 13 studies reported data at all three time points. Of the 40 studies reporting body image pre‐intervention and postintervention ranging in duration from 2 weeks to 24 months, body image was reported to be significantly improved compared with baseline in 22 studies, not significantly changed in 10 studies, five studies did not state whether or not the change was significant and three studies reported a significant improvement in one body image measure and no change in another.…”

“…Most interventions were delivered in either a community (27 studies), 22,29,30,32,33,40,45,48,49,51,53,55,57,58,60,62,66,68,69,73,[76][77][78]82,85,87,90 including one commercially delivered program 25 or tertiary hospital outpatient setting (12 studies). 23,42,46,52,54,59,61,65,70,71,81,84,88 Less frequently, studies were conducted in a residential camp (six studies), 24,43,44,63,72,74,86,89 inpatient setting alone (four studies) [26]…”

“…56 Interventions were delivered by multidisciplinary teams, defined as two or more health professionals, in 35 studies, 21,22,26-29,31,32,36,37,41-43,45,47,48,52-54,56,61,63,66,70,72,74-76,78,79,81-83,85,87,89,90 a single health professional in 12 studies, 30,[33][34][35]39,46,51,62,64,68,71,84,88 and by trained researchers, facilitators, or interventionists in 14 studies. [23][24][25]40,44,49,55,57,58,60,65,67,69,73,77,80,86 Three studies 38,50,59 did not report on personnel involved in intervention delivery.…”

“…21,22,26-29,31, 32,36,37,41-43,45,47,48,52-54,56,61-63,66,68,70,71,74-76,78,79,82,83,85,87,90 The physical activity component of interventions varied among included studies, with education focusing on increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviors. An at least weekly supervised exercise or recreational activity program was included in 38 studies 21,22,24,26,27,28,32,33,36,40,[42][43][44][45]47,49,52,53,55,56,58,59,[61][62][63]65,[67][68][69]72,74,75,[77][78][79][81][82][83]86,87,89,90. Most studies reported the inclusion of a behavior modification component within the intervention.…”

Personality traits and the role of gender in swimmers at the leisure level

“…It reduces anxiety (Biddle & Mutrie, 2001), contributes to processes of inclusion by bringing individuals together in shared activities (Bailey, 2005), develops systems of values, and improves sexual activity (Sabo, Miller, Farrell, Melnick, & Barnes, 1999). The role of sport and exercise with regard to physical health has been studied recently (e.g., Aidar et al, 2012;Gould, Lahart, Carmichael, Koutedakis, & Metsios, 2012;Martin Ginis, Jörgensen, & Stapleton, 2012;Morano et al, 2012). In addition, significant relationships have been found between P, E, N, and personality type dimensions of professional players' anger-anger expression styles (Yildiz, Sahan, Tekin, Ulukan, & Mehtap, 2011), the role of personality variables in the processes of exhaustion and vigor has been researched (Moreno-Jiménez, Garrosa, Corso, Boada, & Rodríguez-Carvajal, 2012), and researchers have found that sedentary Type D men score lower in body satisfaction than active groups (Borkoles, Polman, & Levy, 2010).…”