THE INFLUENCE OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON BODY IMAGE IN PEOPLE WITH AND WITHOUT ACQUIRED MOBILITY DISABILITY

BACKGROUND: Body image in people with physical disability is important, but it has received little attention in the research literature. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to determine whether differences exist between adolescents with acquired mobility disability (AMD) and those without AMD regarding body image, and whether physical activity influences these differences. METHODS: Fifty-eight adolescents, aged 16 to 18 years, participated in this study. Half the participants had some form of AMD while the other half were healthy. Body image was evaluated with the Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ) before and after 6 weeks of playing darts. A two way ANOVA was used to analyse the results. RESULTS: At the end of the study, the healthy adolescents scored significantly higher than the AMD group on the subscales of fitness perception, orientation and overall health perception. No interaction was found between disability and exercise on any subscales of the MBSRQ. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrate that people with AMD evaluate their health and fitness levels as being lower than healthy adolescents and that they are less concerned with fitness as compared with healthy adolescents. Six weeks of playing darts as a physical activity had no effect on improving the self perceptions of the AMD group.