Body image is associated with anthropometric status in adolescents, but not with lifestyle

Body image is a construct of the mul-tifaceted representation of body identity that involves self-perception, beliefs, attitudes about the body itself, which can be influenced by sev-eral factors. This study evaluated the association of body image with anthropometric and lifestyle indicators among adolescents. The sample com-prised 465 adolescents aged 10 to 17 years from public schools in the city of Salvador-Bahia. The Silhouettes Scale assessed the body image. The anthropometric data (body mass index and waist circumference), the lifestyle (Physical Ac-tivity Questionnaire for Adolescents and televi-sion time), economic and demographic data were evaluated. Polytomous logistic regression assessed associations of interest by STATA, version 16.0. Overweight (OR:9,7; CI95%:5,4-17,5) and ab-dominal obesity (OR:14,0; CI95%: 5,0-39,3) were positively associated with body dissatisfaction. However, there was no association with lifestyle variables (physical activity: OR: 1,7, CI: 0,9-2,9, and TV time: OR:1,2; CI:0,8-1,9). The conclusion reached is that anthropometric status is an essen-tial indicator of adverse body image outcomes in adolescents.