Percent Body Fat is Related to Body-Shape Perception and Dissatisfaction in Students Attending an All Women's College

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of aerobic fitness, physical activity, percent body fat, and socioeconomic status on body-shape perceptions among 153 Euro-American students attending an all women's college. Using a set of nine female figure silhouette drawings arranged on an ordinal scale from very thin to very heavy, subjects chose the figure that approximated their Current, Ideal, Most Attractive shapes, and the shape they believed men found the most attractive (Male Attractive). Body Shape Dissatisfaction was assessed by the difference between Current and Ideal shapes. Several significant relationships were noted for body-shape perceptions with percent body fat, aerobic fitness, and physical activity. Overall, data indicate these relationships except for Male Attractive were confounded by percent body fat, as participants with a higher percentage of body fat preferred larger shapes and were more dissatisfied with their shape.

Effect of muscle strength at different intensities on resting energy expenditure

“…Thornton & Potteiger (2002), when they compared two protocols of MSE to different intensities (45% vs 85%RM), with distinct volumes, number of repetitions by sets, and equal rest times between sets (60 sec), reported a greater increment of the energy expenditure when the intensity was of 85%RM, results that coincide with those reported beforehand by Roy et al (2006). The disparity between the protocols make the studies non-comparable to eachother, the absence of the control of the variables that influence on the intensity, the difference in the volume of work assigned for each protocol of exercise and possibly the use of free weights as a training method, make it difficult to determine if it is the intensity of the exercise that determines the increments of the REE after the training session.…”

Associations Between Lifestyle Physical Activity and Body Image Attitudes Among Women

“…Researchers conducted preliminary analyses to determine potential confounding variables, including age, marital status, income, and body fat percentage. Among these variables, only body fat percentage was significantly (p < .005) related to both body image and physical activity, a finding consistent within previous studies (e.g., Huddy et al, 1997;Roy, Hunter, & Blaudeau, 2006;Ekelund et al, 2011). Therefore, partial correlations were calculated examining physical activity and body image while adjusting for body fat percentage.…”