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Body esteem and body fat in British school children from different ethnic groups
Body Image 1 (2004) 311–315
Brief research report
Body esteem and body fat in British school children from different ethnic groups Michael J. Duncan a,∗ , Yahya Al-Nakeeb a , Alan M. Nevill b a
Department of Physical Education and Sports Studies, Newman College of Higher Education, Birmingham B32 3NT, UK b School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure, University of Wolverhampton, UK Received 23 September 2003; received in revised form 1 March 2004; accepted 8 March 2004
Abstract The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between body esteem and body fat in British school children. Two hundred and seventy seven, 11–14-year-old children from central England took part in the study. Body esteem was measured using the Body Esteem Scale for children and percent body fat was determined by skin-fold measures. Results indicate that body esteem and adiposity were negatively related for the whole sample, for boys and girls and for White children, Black children and Asian children. Factorial ANOVA also indicated differences in body esteem according to gender and ethnicity. Boys and Black children had significantly higher body esteem than girls and Asian children respectively. Differences in body fat were also evident according to gender with boys being leaner than girls. No differences in body esteem or body fat were evident across school years. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Body esteem; Body fat; Children; Ethnicity
Body dissatisfaction and body esteem concerns are becoming increasingly prevalent in western society and have been linked to a number of social, psychological and physiological problems including increased incidence of eating disorders, use of illegal substances, cosmetic surgery, restricted eating, poor psychological well being, obesity and excessive exercise (Smolak & Levine, 2001). Likewise, body fatness may be an important variable in the development of body esteem problems. The societal preference for leanness in the western world stigmatises body fatness. This in turn places a social ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +121-476-1181x2311; fax: +121-476-1196. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.J. Duncan).
and psychological burden on children who are dissatisfied with their bodies that can lead to considerable negative health outcomes (Hills & Byrne, 2000). Previous studies have indicated that girls express greater body dissatisfaction, lower body esteem and more negative body image than boys (McCabe, Ricciardelli, & Finemore, 2002; Smolak & Levine, 2001) and that black individuals have a more positive body image and greater body esteem than other ethnic groups (Franko & Streigel-Moore, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer, Croll, Story, Hannan, French, & Perry, 2002). Franko and Streigel-Moore (2002) go on to suggest that black individuals have different standards of attractiveness and place less emphasis on thinness for attractiveness compared to other ethnic groups. Research with Australian children has supported this view, reporting that
1740-1445/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.03.002
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M.J. Duncan et al. / Body Image 1 (2004) 311–315
Black children selected heavier body sizes as their current body size on a figure rating scale compared to White children (Thompson, Corwin, & Sargent, 1997). British Asian girls have also been identified as a group who may be at risk of developing eating disorders and body esteem problems (Hill & Bhatti, 1995). Hill and Bhatti (1995) reported that Asian girls may be subjected to ethnic specific media (e.g. Hindu films) that result in low body esteem and that in all cases lower body esteem was related to higher eating restraint. Yet, although body fatness may be an important variable in the development of body esteem problems, few studies have actually examined the relationship between children’s body esteem and body fatness using actual measures of adiposity preferring instead to use body mass index as a proxy for actual fatness (Duncan, Woodfield, O’Neill, Al-Nakeeb, & Nevill, 2002a). An examination of the relationship between body esteem and body fatness may therefore be useful in directing interventions and policies aimed at enhancing body esteem and/or reducing body fatness. Determining any differences in body esteem or body fatness according to gender and ethnicity may also be beneficial in targeting interventions specific to the needs of a particular group. A significant inverse relationship (r = −0.66, p < 0.01) between body image/esteem and body fatness in a sample of 11–14-year-old British children has however been reported (Duncan et al., 2002a). In this study body image/esteem was assessed using a scale devised by Huddy, Nieman, and Johnson (1993) and body fatness was assessed using skin-fold measures and the child specific Slaughter, Lohman, Boileau, Horswill, Stillman, Van Loan, and Bemben (1988) skinfold equation. Similar relationships were also evident across gender and ethnic groups in this study. In all cases, higher body fatness was associated with more negative body image/lower body esteem. Furthermore, boys had significantly greater body esteem and were leaner than girls and Black children reported significantly greater body esteem and had lower percent body fat than Asian children. No differences were evident between White and Black or White and Asian children. However, the measure of body esteem used in this study was not validated on children and further research has indicated that the responses of younger children in this study may not be stable due to the measure used (Duncan, Woodfield, O’Neill, Al-Nakeeb,
Nevill, & Lane, 2002b). Further work examining the relationship between body esteem and body fatness using child specific measures would appear warranted to confirm conclusions made by Duncan et al. (2002a). The present study examined a number of hypotheses. Firstly, that there would be a significant inverse relationship between body esteem and body fatness and secondly that there would be significant differences in body esteem and body fatness according to gender and ethnic group.
Method Participants Two hundred and seventy seven British secondary school children (166 boys and 111 girls) from school years 7 (n = 81), 8 (n = 114) and 9 (n = 82) (M = 12.5 and SD = 0.8 years) took part in the study which was approved by the College ethics committee. All measures were completed on an individual basis during school time following informed consent from all participants and their parents. Ethnic group was determined from school records. Children were split into White (n = 176), Black (n = 34) and Asian (n = 67) groups using methods currently employed by the Department for Education and Skills (2002) when classifying ethnic group in schools. Measures The body esteem scale for children (Mendelson & White, 1982) was used to assess body esteem. This is a self-report measure designed to assess children’s feelings about their body using yes/no responses to 24 items such as ‘I wish I were thinner’. The minimum possible score is 0, reflecting low body esteem and the highest possible score is 24, reflecting high body esteem. This scale was chosen because it was designed specifically to assess body esteem in children of the ages participating in this study. It has previously been used to assess body esteem in children (Mendelson, White, & Mendelson; 1996; Mendelson & White, 1985) and acceptable psychometric properties have been established (Mendelson & White, 1982). Furthermore, in a pilot group of thirty, 11-year-old children (the age of the youngest partici-
M.J. Duncan et al. / Body Image 1 (2004) 311–315
pants in the study) values for 2-week test re-test reliability (r = 0.83) were acceptable as were scores for Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.90). Following completion of the body esteem scale, participants’ height (cm) and mass (kg) were measured using a Seca stadiometer and weighing scales (Seca Instruments Ltd., Germany). Percent body fat was determined using skin-fold measures at two sites (tricep and medial calf) employing the child specific Slaughter et al. (1988) skin-fold equation. Analysis The relationship between body esteem and body fat was determined by means of Pearson product moment correlations. A factorial three-way ANOVA (2 (gender) X 3 (ethnicity) X 3 (school year) ways) with backwards elimination to achieve a parsimonious solution was used to examine any differences in body esteem and percent body fat according to school year, gender and ethnic group. SPSS version 11.0 was used to analyse all data.
Results Results indicated a significant inverse relationship between body esteem and body fat for the whole sample (r = −0.565, df = 174, p < 0.01). Similar inverse relationships were also evident for children in year 7 (r = −0.679, df = 79, p < 0.01), year 8 (r = −0.509, df = 112, p < 0.01) and year 9 (r = −0.527, df = 80, p < 0.01), for boys (r = −0.663, df = 164, p < 0.01), girls (r = −0.379, df = 109, p < 0.01), White children (r = −0.569, df = 174, p < 0.01), Black children (r = −0.631, df = 32, p < 0.01) and Asian children (r = −0.514, df = 65, p < 0.01). Results from factorial ANOVA revealed significant differences in Body esteem according to gender F(1, 269) = 8.98, p < 0.01 with boys having higher body esteem than girls. Mean ±SD of body esteem for boys and girls was 15.6 ± 5.9 and 13.1 ± 5.2, respectively. Significant differences in body esteem according to ethnicity were also evident F(2, 269) = 3.57, p < 0.05. Tukey’s HSD post hoc multiple comparisons indicated that Black children had significantly higher body esteem than Asian children (HSD = 3.01, p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in
313
Table 1 Mean ± SD of body esteem scores and percent body fat for the whole sample and according to gender, ethnic group and school year n
Whole sample Boys Girls White children Black children Asian children Year 7 Year 8 Year 9
277 166 111 176 34 67 81 114 82
Body esteem
Body fat (%)
M
SD
M
SD
13.7 15.6 13.1 14.3 15.5 12.8 14.1 13.8 15.0
5.7 5.9 5.2 5.6 8.9 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.6
22.2 20.2 25.2 22.3 21.4 22.2 22.2 20.7 23.4
7.0 6.9 6.1 6.9 8.5 7.0 6.6 7.5 6.2
body esteem between White and Black or White and Asian children (both p > 0.05). Mean ± SD of body esteem was 14.3 ± 5.6, 15.5 ± 8.9 and 12.8 ± 5.5 for White, Black and Asian children, respectively. No significant higher order interactions or differences in body esteem were evident according to school year (p > 0.05). In regard to percent body fat, factorial ANOVA revealed a significant main effect according to gender with boys being leaner than girls F(1, 275) = 37.52, p < 0.01. Mean ± SD of percent body fat was 20.2 ± 6.9% and 25.2 ± 6.1% for boys and girls, respectively. No significant higher order interactions or differences in percent body fat according to school year or ethnic group were evident (both p > 0.05). Mean ± SD of body esteem scores and percent body fat according to school year, gender and ethnic group are shown in Table 1.
Discussion Results of this study support previous work conducted by Duncan et al. (2002a) indicating a significant inverse relationship between body fatness and body esteem in British children. These relationships are evident across school years, gender and ethnic groups and in all cases the higher the percent body fatness the lower the body esteem. The results confirm previous findings that British adolescents’ body esteem and body fatness are significantly related (Duncan et al., 2002a). However, the current study
314
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used a measure of body esteem that was designed for use with children and adolescents rather than adapting a psychometric tool that was designed for use with adults. Despite this, due to the correlational nature of the current study no causal direction can be inferred from this data. Although body esteem and body fatness are significantly related in the present study, future work that examines whether low body esteem leads to increased fatness or whether increased fatness leads to low body esteem is needed to fully understand the nature of this relationship. In addition, significant differences in body esteem were evident between boys and girls, with boys having higher body esteem than girls. These results support previous studies which have indicated that males have greater body esteem than females (McCabe et al., 2002; Smolak & Levine, 2001). Factorial ANOVA also indicated that Black children also had significantly higher body esteem scores than Asian children. The body esteem scores of White children appear to be intermediate of Black and Asian children. Significant differences in percent body fat were also evident according to gender with boys being leaner than girls. Mean body fat values for boys and girls and across gender groups are also similar to body fat percentages reported from a similar sample of British children from the same geographical area as the current study (Duncan, Woodfield, O’Neill, Al-Nakeeb, & Nevill, 2003). However, in the present study no significant differences in body fat were evident according to ethnicity. This is important when examining children’s body esteem and body fatness as the results of the current study would appear to indicate that Asian children have similar levels of body fatness to their White and Black peers but have significantly lower body esteem compared to their Black counterparts. Therefore, interventions aimed at developing body esteem in children may need to be specific to different gender and ethnic groups. A number of previous studies have suggested that individuals from ethnic minority groups may have different points of reference in terms of body esteem/body image (Franko & Streigel-Moore, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2002), a finding that may help to explain the different levels of body esteem across ethnic groups. The results of the current study would appear to support this conclusion. If this is the case, interventions that address the specific body
esteem concerns of individual ethnic groups may be more effective than general intervention programmes. Furthermore, as has previously been suggested, there may be greater emphasis to conform to dominant social norms which emphasize thinness in Asian groups compared to other ethnic groups (Hill & Bhatti, 1995) resulting in lower body esteem in Asian children compared to those from other groups. In this respect any programmes aimed at developing body esteem in children, in addition to considering gender, should take into account ethnic group and any ethnic specific influences that may influence an individual’s body esteem. Further research examining how ethnic specific norms contribute to ethnic differences in body esteem would be desirable in order to fully explain ethnic differences in body image. It would be also be beneficial to confirm these findings with non-British samples as the majority of studies examining these variables using actual measures of adiposity appear to have been largely British based. Additionally, examining levels of body esteem alongside actual body fatness is also important. Schwartz and Brownell (2004) have noted that negative states created by low body esteem and/or obesity may result in individuals relieving these by losing weight but it is also likely that individuals may engage in behavior that actually decreases body esteem and increases body fatness. This could not be addressed in the current study. Future research is needed to further examine the relationships between these variables and to assess causality in the body esteem and body fat relationship. The sample sizes across ethnic groups comprise a limitation of the current study. The sub-sample (n = 34) for Black individuals was somewhat lower than for Asian and White children and future work should seek to assess body esteem and body fatness in children using evenly distributed group sizes that are larger than those currently employed for Black and Asian children. Body esteem may be an important variable in children’s wellness and physical activity participation and development of a positive image of one’s own body and physical appearance may lead to lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity and reducing obesity/body fatness (Duncan et al., 2002a). Likewise, the development of body esteem may also lead to improvement in exercise motivation and development of greater self-confidence and self esteem
M.J. Duncan et al. / Body Image 1 (2004) 311–315
in the physical domain (Grogan, 1999). The results of the present study appear to indicate that body esteem and body fatness are interlinked and when examining children’s body esteem, body fatness should also be considered and vice versa. Furthermore, the results of the present study suggest that health professionals working to implement interventions or educational programmes aimed at enhancing children’s body esteem should also focus on children’s levels of body fatness as well as having an awareness of gender and ethnic differences in children’s body esteem.
References Department for Education and Skills (2002). Guidance for local education authorities on schools’ collection and recording data on pupils’ ethnic background. DFES Circular DfES/0002/2002. Duncan, M. J., Woodfield, L. A., O’Neill, S. J., Al-Nakeeb, Y., & Nevill, A. (2002a). The relationship between body image and percent body fat among British school children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 94, 197–203. Duncan, M., Woodfield, L., O’Neill, S., Al-Nakeeb, Y., Nevill, A., & Lane, A. M. (2002b). Test-retest stability of body image scores between adolescents. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 95, 1007–1012. Duncan, M. J., Woodfield, L., O’Neill, S., Al-Nakeeb, Y., & Nevill, A. (2003). The percent body fat of British children from different ethnic groups. Journal of Sports Sciences, 21, 298. Franko, D. L., & Streigel-Moore, R. H. (2002). The role of body dissatisfaction as a risk factor for depression in adolescent girls. Are the differences Black and White? Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 1–9. Grogan, S. (1999). Body image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and children. London: Routledge. Hill, A. J., & Bhatti, R. (1995). Body shape perception and dieting in preadolescent British Asian girls: Links with eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 17, 175– 183.
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Hills, A. P., Byrne, N. M. (2000). Exercise, daily physical activity, eating and weight disorders in children. In N. Armstrong & W. van Mechelen (Eds.). Paediatric exercise science and medicine (pp. 339–349). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Huddy, D. C., Nieman, D. C., & Johnson, R. L. (1993). Relationship between body image and percent body fat among college male varsity athletes and non-athletes. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 77, 851–857. McCabe, M. P., Ricciardelli, L. A., & Finemore, J. (2002). The role of puberty, media and popularity with peers to increase weight, decrease weight and increase muscle tone among adolescent boys and girls. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 52, 145– 153. Mendelson, B. K., & White, D. R. (1982). Relation between body-esteem and self-esteem of obese and normal children. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 54, 899–905. Mendelson, B. K., & White, D. R. (1985). Development of self-body-esteem in overweight youngsters. Developmental Psychology, 21, 90–96. Mendelson, B. K., White, D. R., & Mendelson, M. J. (1996). Self-esteem and body esteem: Effects of gender, age and weight. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 17, 321–346. Neumark-Sztainer, D., Croll, J., Story, M., Hannan, P. J., French, S. A., & Perry, C. (2002). Ethnic/racial differences in weight related concerns and behaviours among adolescent girls and boys. Findings from project EAT. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 53, 963–974. Schwartz, M. B., & Brownell, K. D. (2004). Obesity and body image. Body Image, 1, 43–56. Slaughter, M. H., Lohman, T. G., Boileau, R. A., Horswill, C. A., Stillman, R. J., Van Loan, M. D., & Bemben, D. A. (1988). Skinfold equations for estimation of body fatness in children and youth. Human Biology, 60, 709–723. Smolak, L., Levine, M. P. (2001). Body image in children. In J. K. Thompson & L. Smolak (Eds.). Body image, eating disorders and obesity in youth (pp. 41–66). Washington: American Psychological Association. Thompson, S. H., Corwin, S. J., & Sargent, R. G. (1997). Ideal body size beliefs and weight concerns of fourth-grade children. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 21, 279– 284.
Brief research report
Body esteem and body fat in British school children from different ethnic groups Michael J. Duncan a,∗ , Yahya Al-Nakeeb a , Alan M. Nevill b a
Department of Physical Education and Sports Studies, Newman College of Higher Education, Birmingham B32 3NT, UK b School of Sport, Performing Arts and Leisure, University of Wolverhampton, UK Received 23 September 2003; received in revised form 1 March 2004; accepted 8 March 2004
Abstract The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between body esteem and body fat in British school children. Two hundred and seventy seven, 11–14-year-old children from central England took part in the study. Body esteem was measured using the Body Esteem Scale for children and percent body fat was determined by skin-fold measures. Results indicate that body esteem and adiposity were negatively related for the whole sample, for boys and girls and for White children, Black children and Asian children. Factorial ANOVA also indicated differences in body esteem according to gender and ethnicity. Boys and Black children had significantly higher body esteem than girls and Asian children respectively. Differences in body fat were also evident according to gender with boys being leaner than girls. No differences in body esteem or body fat were evident across school years. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Body esteem; Body fat; Children; Ethnicity
Body dissatisfaction and body esteem concerns are becoming increasingly prevalent in western society and have been linked to a number of social, psychological and physiological problems including increased incidence of eating disorders, use of illegal substances, cosmetic surgery, restricted eating, poor psychological well being, obesity and excessive exercise (Smolak & Levine, 2001). Likewise, body fatness may be an important variable in the development of body esteem problems. The societal preference for leanness in the western world stigmatises body fatness. This in turn places a social ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +121-476-1181x2311; fax: +121-476-1196. E-mail address: [email protected] (M.J. Duncan).
and psychological burden on children who are dissatisfied with their bodies that can lead to considerable negative health outcomes (Hills & Byrne, 2000). Previous studies have indicated that girls express greater body dissatisfaction, lower body esteem and more negative body image than boys (McCabe, Ricciardelli, & Finemore, 2002; Smolak & Levine, 2001) and that black individuals have a more positive body image and greater body esteem than other ethnic groups (Franko & Streigel-Moore, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer, Croll, Story, Hannan, French, & Perry, 2002). Franko and Streigel-Moore (2002) go on to suggest that black individuals have different standards of attractiveness and place less emphasis on thinness for attractiveness compared to other ethnic groups. Research with Australian children has supported this view, reporting that
1740-1445/$ – see front matter © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.bodyim.2004.03.002
312
M.J. Duncan et al. / Body Image 1 (2004) 311–315
Black children selected heavier body sizes as their current body size on a figure rating scale compared to White children (Thompson, Corwin, & Sargent, 1997). British Asian girls have also been identified as a group who may be at risk of developing eating disorders and body esteem problems (Hill & Bhatti, 1995). Hill and Bhatti (1995) reported that Asian girls may be subjected to ethnic specific media (e.g. Hindu films) that result in low body esteem and that in all cases lower body esteem was related to higher eating restraint. Yet, although body fatness may be an important variable in the development of body esteem problems, few studies have actually examined the relationship between children’s body esteem and body fatness using actual measures of adiposity preferring instead to use body mass index as a proxy for actual fatness (Duncan, Woodfield, O’Neill, Al-Nakeeb, & Nevill, 2002a). An examination of the relationship between body esteem and body fatness may therefore be useful in directing interventions and policies aimed at enhancing body esteem and/or reducing body fatness. Determining any differences in body esteem or body fatness according to gender and ethnicity may also be beneficial in targeting interventions specific to the needs of a particular group. A significant inverse relationship (r = −0.66, p < 0.01) between body image/esteem and body fatness in a sample of 11–14-year-old British children has however been reported (Duncan et al., 2002a). In this study body image/esteem was assessed using a scale devised by Huddy, Nieman, and Johnson (1993) and body fatness was assessed using skin-fold measures and the child specific Slaughter, Lohman, Boileau, Horswill, Stillman, Van Loan, and Bemben (1988) skinfold equation. Similar relationships were also evident across gender and ethnic groups in this study. In all cases, higher body fatness was associated with more negative body image/lower body esteem. Furthermore, boys had significantly greater body esteem and were leaner than girls and Black children reported significantly greater body esteem and had lower percent body fat than Asian children. No differences were evident between White and Black or White and Asian children. However, the measure of body esteem used in this study was not validated on children and further research has indicated that the responses of younger children in this study may not be stable due to the measure used (Duncan, Woodfield, O’Neill, Al-Nakeeb,
Nevill, & Lane, 2002b). Further work examining the relationship between body esteem and body fatness using child specific measures would appear warranted to confirm conclusions made by Duncan et al. (2002a). The present study examined a number of hypotheses. Firstly, that there would be a significant inverse relationship between body esteem and body fatness and secondly that there would be significant differences in body esteem and body fatness according to gender and ethnic group.
Method Participants Two hundred and seventy seven British secondary school children (166 boys and 111 girls) from school years 7 (n = 81), 8 (n = 114) and 9 (n = 82) (M = 12.5 and SD = 0.8 years) took part in the study which was approved by the College ethics committee. All measures were completed on an individual basis during school time following informed consent from all participants and their parents. Ethnic group was determined from school records. Children were split into White (n = 176), Black (n = 34) and Asian (n = 67) groups using methods currently employed by the Department for Education and Skills (2002) when classifying ethnic group in schools. Measures The body esteem scale for children (Mendelson & White, 1982) was used to assess body esteem. This is a self-report measure designed to assess children’s feelings about their body using yes/no responses to 24 items such as ‘I wish I were thinner’. The minimum possible score is 0, reflecting low body esteem and the highest possible score is 24, reflecting high body esteem. This scale was chosen because it was designed specifically to assess body esteem in children of the ages participating in this study. It has previously been used to assess body esteem in children (Mendelson, White, & Mendelson; 1996; Mendelson & White, 1985) and acceptable psychometric properties have been established (Mendelson & White, 1982). Furthermore, in a pilot group of thirty, 11-year-old children (the age of the youngest partici-
M.J. Duncan et al. / Body Image 1 (2004) 311–315
pants in the study) values for 2-week test re-test reliability (r = 0.83) were acceptable as were scores for Cronbach’s alpha (α = 0.90). Following completion of the body esteem scale, participants’ height (cm) and mass (kg) were measured using a Seca stadiometer and weighing scales (Seca Instruments Ltd., Germany). Percent body fat was determined using skin-fold measures at two sites (tricep and medial calf) employing the child specific Slaughter et al. (1988) skin-fold equation. Analysis The relationship between body esteem and body fat was determined by means of Pearson product moment correlations. A factorial three-way ANOVA (2 (gender) X 3 (ethnicity) X 3 (school year) ways) with backwards elimination to achieve a parsimonious solution was used to examine any differences in body esteem and percent body fat according to school year, gender and ethnic group. SPSS version 11.0 was used to analyse all data.
Results Results indicated a significant inverse relationship between body esteem and body fat for the whole sample (r = −0.565, df = 174, p < 0.01). Similar inverse relationships were also evident for children in year 7 (r = −0.679, df = 79, p < 0.01), year 8 (r = −0.509, df = 112, p < 0.01) and year 9 (r = −0.527, df = 80, p < 0.01), for boys (r = −0.663, df = 164, p < 0.01), girls (r = −0.379, df = 109, p < 0.01), White children (r = −0.569, df = 174, p < 0.01), Black children (r = −0.631, df = 32, p < 0.01) and Asian children (r = −0.514, df = 65, p < 0.01). Results from factorial ANOVA revealed significant differences in Body esteem according to gender F(1, 269) = 8.98, p < 0.01 with boys having higher body esteem than girls. Mean ±SD of body esteem for boys and girls was 15.6 ± 5.9 and 13.1 ± 5.2, respectively. Significant differences in body esteem according to ethnicity were also evident F(2, 269) = 3.57, p < 0.05. Tukey’s HSD post hoc multiple comparisons indicated that Black children had significantly higher body esteem than Asian children (HSD = 3.01, p < 0.05). There were no significant differences in
313
Table 1 Mean ± SD of body esteem scores and percent body fat for the whole sample and according to gender, ethnic group and school year n
Whole sample Boys Girls White children Black children Asian children Year 7 Year 8 Year 9
277 166 111 176 34 67 81 114 82
Body esteem
Body fat (%)
M
SD
M
SD
13.7 15.6 13.1 14.3 15.5 12.8 14.1 13.8 15.0
5.7 5.9 5.2 5.6 8.9 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.6
22.2 20.2 25.2 22.3 21.4 22.2 22.2 20.7 23.4
7.0 6.9 6.1 6.9 8.5 7.0 6.6 7.5 6.2
body esteem between White and Black or White and Asian children (both p > 0.05). Mean ± SD of body esteem was 14.3 ± 5.6, 15.5 ± 8.9 and 12.8 ± 5.5 for White, Black and Asian children, respectively. No significant higher order interactions or differences in body esteem were evident according to school year (p > 0.05). In regard to percent body fat, factorial ANOVA revealed a significant main effect according to gender with boys being leaner than girls F(1, 275) = 37.52, p < 0.01. Mean ± SD of percent body fat was 20.2 ± 6.9% and 25.2 ± 6.1% for boys and girls, respectively. No significant higher order interactions or differences in percent body fat according to school year or ethnic group were evident (both p > 0.05). Mean ± SD of body esteem scores and percent body fat according to school year, gender and ethnic group are shown in Table 1.
Discussion Results of this study support previous work conducted by Duncan et al. (2002a) indicating a significant inverse relationship between body fatness and body esteem in British children. These relationships are evident across school years, gender and ethnic groups and in all cases the higher the percent body fatness the lower the body esteem. The results confirm previous findings that British adolescents’ body esteem and body fatness are significantly related (Duncan et al., 2002a). However, the current study
314
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used a measure of body esteem that was designed for use with children and adolescents rather than adapting a psychometric tool that was designed for use with adults. Despite this, due to the correlational nature of the current study no causal direction can be inferred from this data. Although body esteem and body fatness are significantly related in the present study, future work that examines whether low body esteem leads to increased fatness or whether increased fatness leads to low body esteem is needed to fully understand the nature of this relationship. In addition, significant differences in body esteem were evident between boys and girls, with boys having higher body esteem than girls. These results support previous studies which have indicated that males have greater body esteem than females (McCabe et al., 2002; Smolak & Levine, 2001). Factorial ANOVA also indicated that Black children also had significantly higher body esteem scores than Asian children. The body esteem scores of White children appear to be intermediate of Black and Asian children. Significant differences in percent body fat were also evident according to gender with boys being leaner than girls. Mean body fat values for boys and girls and across gender groups are also similar to body fat percentages reported from a similar sample of British children from the same geographical area as the current study (Duncan, Woodfield, O’Neill, Al-Nakeeb, & Nevill, 2003). However, in the present study no significant differences in body fat were evident according to ethnicity. This is important when examining children’s body esteem and body fatness as the results of the current study would appear to indicate that Asian children have similar levels of body fatness to their White and Black peers but have significantly lower body esteem compared to their Black counterparts. Therefore, interventions aimed at developing body esteem in children may need to be specific to different gender and ethnic groups. A number of previous studies have suggested that individuals from ethnic minority groups may have different points of reference in terms of body esteem/body image (Franko & Streigel-Moore, 2002; Neumark-Sztainer et al., 2002), a finding that may help to explain the different levels of body esteem across ethnic groups. The results of the current study would appear to support this conclusion. If this is the case, interventions that address the specific body
esteem concerns of individual ethnic groups may be more effective than general intervention programmes. Furthermore, as has previously been suggested, there may be greater emphasis to conform to dominant social norms which emphasize thinness in Asian groups compared to other ethnic groups (Hill & Bhatti, 1995) resulting in lower body esteem in Asian children compared to those from other groups. In this respect any programmes aimed at developing body esteem in children, in addition to considering gender, should take into account ethnic group and any ethnic specific influences that may influence an individual’s body esteem. Further research examining how ethnic specific norms contribute to ethnic differences in body esteem would be desirable in order to fully explain ethnic differences in body image. It would be also be beneficial to confirm these findings with non-British samples as the majority of studies examining these variables using actual measures of adiposity appear to have been largely British based. Additionally, examining levels of body esteem alongside actual body fatness is also important. Schwartz and Brownell (2004) have noted that negative states created by low body esteem and/or obesity may result in individuals relieving these by losing weight but it is also likely that individuals may engage in behavior that actually decreases body esteem and increases body fatness. This could not be addressed in the current study. Future research is needed to further examine the relationships between these variables and to assess causality in the body esteem and body fat relationship. The sample sizes across ethnic groups comprise a limitation of the current study. The sub-sample (n = 34) for Black individuals was somewhat lower than for Asian and White children and future work should seek to assess body esteem and body fatness in children using evenly distributed group sizes that are larger than those currently employed for Black and Asian children. Body esteem may be an important variable in children’s wellness and physical activity participation and development of a positive image of one’s own body and physical appearance may lead to lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity and reducing obesity/body fatness (Duncan et al., 2002a). Likewise, the development of body esteem may also lead to improvement in exercise motivation and development of greater self-confidence and self esteem
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in the physical domain (Grogan, 1999). The results of the present study appear to indicate that body esteem and body fatness are interlinked and when examining children’s body esteem, body fatness should also be considered and vice versa. Furthermore, the results of the present study suggest that health professionals working to implement interventions or educational programmes aimed at enhancing children’s body esteem should also focus on children’s levels of body fatness as well as having an awareness of gender and ethnic differences in children’s body esteem.
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