Abstract
The correlation between exercise and psychological health recently has received considerable attention. This study examined the relationships among body image, self- esteem and physical activity. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather data from 972 fifth and sixth grade elementary school students (response rate: 97.3%). Results indicated that mean body image, esteem and physical activity were 45.79±7.70 (60 in total), 33.33±5.98 (40 in total) and 52.02±3.95 (56 in total), respectively. Girls had more negative perceptions of body image and self-esteem that boys, and also performed less physical activity. Significantly positive correlations were found between body image and self-esteem (r=.46, p＜.001) and physical activity (r=.27, p＜.001). Self-esteem was also positively correlated with physical activity (r=.21, p＜.001). The findings of this work indicate that promoting physical activity may offer an effective way of enhancing the self-esteem of elementary school students and promoting a healthy body image.
| Original language | Chinese (Traditional) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 43-55 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | 醫護科技學刊 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |