Gender differences in the body image of adolescents in Huelva according to their body mass index

The main objective of this study is to check the differences in the perception of the body image (hereinafter IC) of the adolescents of Huelva according to their body mass index (hereinafter BMI). The sample consisted of 226 students, aged between 12 and 18 years (M = 13.94; DT = 1.41). The distribution by sex was 54.9% of boys (n = 124) and 45.1% of girls (n = 102). The instruments used to evaluate the different components of the CI were: 1) To evaluate the perceptual component, the global body estimation method of Gardner, Stark, Jackson and Friedman (1999) was used, adapted to Spanish by Rodriguez, Beato, Rodriguez and Martinez (2003). 2) To evaluate the subjective component, the Eating Disorders Inventory subscale of body dissatisfaction by Garner, Polivy and Olmstead (1983), adapted to the Spanish population by Garner (1998), was used. 3) The Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (BIAQ) by Rosen, Salzberg, Srebnik and Went (1991) was used to evaluate the behavioral component. As the BMI increases, so does the degree of dissatisfaction, the obsession with thinness, the BIAQ base score, and food restriction in both boys and girls. Also, as the BMI increases, boys' bulimia decreases and girls' tendency to weigh and groom themselves increases. More than half of boys and girls, regardless of BMI category, are dissatisfied with their desire to lose weight.