The role of gender in the relationship between physical activity, appearance evaluation and psychological distress

BackgroundBased on previous research, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the indirect effect of physical activity on psychological distress through appearance evaluation. The indirect effect was hypothesized to be conditional on gender, with the effect being more profound among females than among males. Method A total of 2055 adolescents (M-age=15.3) completed a self-report questionnaire. ResultsPhysical activity was indirectly related to psychological distress through appearance evaluation in both males and females, but the indirect effect was stronger for females than for males. Conclusions Physical activity may prevent distress through enhanced appearance evaluation. Key Practitioner Message: While the evidence of positive mental health outcomes of physical activity among young people in terms of alleviating psychological distress is amounting, the mechanisms underlying these relationships are not well understood One possible explanation of the inverse relationship between physical activity and psychological distress may be related to an increase in peoples' appearance evaluation Findings suggest that participation in physical activity during adolescent years better enables young people to maintain a satisfying level of appearance evaluation, subsequently better preparing them to cope with psychological distressing emotions A better understanding of mechanisms linking physical activity to mental health is important for the development of optimal intervention programs for young people