ABSTRACT
Adolescence is a stage of human life linked with gradual changes and rapid development. This study examined the body image perception, anthropometric status and dietary habit of in School Adolescent Girls in Awka South Local Government, Anambra State. The study was a cross-sectional study. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a total of 361 adolescent girls. Data on socio-economic and demographic characteristics of parents to know their Monthly income, Educational status and Occupations, body image perception was assessed using the Contour Drawing Rating Scale (Thompson and Gray, 2005), dietary pattern was assessed using a food frequency Consumption table, anthropometric status was measured using a Weighing scale (weight) and Meter rule (height) for the adolescents, which was collected using structured, pretested and validated questionnaire. The IBM SPSS version 22.0 computer programme was used to analyze the data. WHO anthro plus was used to assess the anthropometric status of adolescents. Data obtained were described using frequency and percentage. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the relationship between body image perception and body mass index of the adolescents. Significant relationship was judged at p ≤ 0.05. Result from the study showed that more than half (52.6%) of the adolescents were between 13-15 years. Majority (99.4%) of them are Christians. More than half (51.5%) of the adolescent’s fathers are high income earners, majority (70.6% and 85.3%) of both their father and mother attained higher education while some (38.8% and 53.7%) of them are civil servants. However, almost half (47.7%) of the adolescents were dissatisfied with their body image. Some (31.1%) of them perceived themselves as slim, 27.1% of them perceived themselves as thin while 11.1% perceived themselves as overweight. Meanwhile, majority (77.3%) of the adolescents skipped meals, 85.6% of them eat in between means while 97.2% consume snacks. The anthropometric status of the respondents showed that 39.1% of the adolescents were overweight, 20.8% of them were obese while 0.3% were underweight. There was a significant relationship between the adolescent’s dissatisfaction of body weight, perception of body size, current body shape and their Body mass index. Body image may be one of the most important determinants of dietary intake and physical activity behaviors, and thus future efforts to foster healthy eating and physical activity behaviors among adolescents need to address body image concerns. School health programs need to incorporate counseling for those with negative body image perceptions, while emphasizing healthful nutrition for adolescents.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title page
i
Certification
ii
Dedication
iii
Acknowledgement
iv
Table of content
v
Lists of Tables
viii
Abstract
x
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study 1
1.2 Statement of the problem 3
1.3 Objective of the
study 4
1.3.1 General objectives
of the study 4
1.3.2 Specific objectives
of the study 5
1.4 Significance of the study 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Body image 7
2.1.2 Aspects of body
image 7
2.1.2.1 The way you see yourself (Perceptual) 7
2.1.2.2 The way you feel about the way you look (Affective) 7
2.1.2.3 The thoughts and beliefs you feel about your body
(Cognitive) 8
2.1.2.4 The things you do in relation to the way you look
(Behavioural)
2.2 Body image disturbance 8
2.3 Factors that
influences body image perception 8
2.4 Body
image and dissatisfaction 11
2.5 Positive vs. negative body image 12
2.6 Body image and gender 13
2.6.1 Body image and age 13
2.6.2 Body image and
self-esteem 14
2.7 Body
image and mental health 15
2.8 Dietary pattern 17
2.8.1 Adolescents’
Nutrient and Dietary Intake 17
2.8.2 Nutritional Status 18
2.8.3 Nutritional Needs
during Adolescence 19
2.8.3.1 Energy and Protein Requirements 21
2.8.3.2 Mineral and Micronutrient Requirements 21
2.8.3.3 Iron requirements 22
2.8.3.4 Calcium requirements 23
2.8.3.5 Zinc requirements 24
2.8.3.6 Iodine requirements 24
2.8.4 Vitamins 24
2.8.5 Nutritional Issues
among Adolescents 25
2.9 Anthropometry 26
CHAPTER 3: MATERIALS AND METHODS
3.1 Study design 30
3.2 Study area 30
3.3 Population of the study 30
3.4 Sampling and sampling techniques 31
3.4.1 Sampling Size 31
3.4.2 Sampling Procedure 31
3.5 Preliminary activities 32
3.5.1 Training of Research Assistants 32
3.5.2 Ethical Approval 32
3. 6 Questionnaire Design 32
3.6.1 Dietary pattern assessment 33
3.6.2 Anthropometric
Measurements 33
3.6.2.1 Weight measurement 33
3.6.2.2 Height measurement 34
3.6.2.3 Body Mass Index 34
3.7. Validation of questionnaire 35
3.8 Data analysis 35
3.8.1 Data Collection 35
3.8.1.1
Socio-economic characteristics of the parents 35
3.8.2 Body Image 36
3.8.3 Statistical analysis 37
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Socio-demographic characteristics of
adolescents 38
4.2 Socio economic characteristics of parents 40
4.3 Adolescent’s perception of their body size 42
4.4 Food consumption habits of the adolescent
girls 47
4.5 Food frequency of the adolescent girls 52
4.6 Anthropometric status of the adolescent
girls 61
4.7 Relationship between body image perception
and body mass index
of the adolescent girls. 62
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion 66
5.2 Recommendations 66
References
Appendices
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
4.1: Socio-demographic characteristics of the
adolescents 39
4.2: Socio-economic characteristics of parents 41
4.3a: Adolescents' perception of their body size 44
4.3b: Adolescents' perception of their body size 46
4.4a: Food consumption habits of the adolescent
girls 49
4.4b: Food consumption
habits of the respondents 51
4.5: Favorite snacks of students 52
4.6a: Food frequency of the respondents 54
4.6b: Food consumption
of the respondents 58
4.7: Anthropometric status of the adolescents 62
4.8: Relationship
between body image perception and body mass index of
the adolescent girls. 64
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Body
image is characterized by one’s mental perception of measures, contours and
shape of the body and parts of it and feelings associated with these
characteristics.
According
to Saikali et al, (2004) the concept of body image involves three
components; they include: Perceptive which concerns perceptions of one’s
physical appearance, involving estimation of body weight and size. Subjective
which concerns appearance; and Behavioral which comprises situations
avoided by the individual as a means of avoiding discomfort associated with his
or her appearance.
Social
factors, cultural influences, pressure from the media, and the search for an
ideal body appear to be determinants of body image distortion, particularly
among adolescents (Conti et
al., 2005).
Historically, the pattern of beauty has advanced as society
evolves. The valued female body was already curvilinear and robust as of the
Greek goddesses. Paradoxically, at the present time, it is expected that they
are lean bodies, slender and young like the models. In contrast, for men, the
constant search since ancient times is based on the athletic size and on being
tall. In addition, broad shoulders, defined muscles and abdomen are expected.
Adolescence may be defined as the transitional period between childhood
and adulthood, which takes place between the ages of 10 and 19 (Campagna and Souza, 2006).
It is characterized by profound biological and psychosocial changes that
involve intense growth and development.
The
culture of thinness imposes values and standards which, in turn, are
conditioning factors of attitudes and behaviors related to appearance, body
size, and over evaluation thereof (Nunes et
al., 2001), leading to feelings of discontent regarding
one’s body. Body image dissatisfaction is associated with overweight and
obesity (Anderson et al., 2002; Provencher et al.,
2007) with changes in body weight (Anglé
et al., 2005); with gender (particularly female) (Branco et al., 2006; Conti et al., 2005)
and with maternal perceptions of their children’s nutritional status in
childhood and early adolescence (Triches
and Giugliani, 2007).
Adequate nutrition is the right
proportion of food and nutrients needed for growth, energy and maintenance.
Improved nutrition status plays an important role in the well-being of
individuals and is critical for socioeconomic development (Nemati et al., 2008). An adequate nutritional status is
essential to maintain healthy conditions in singular individuals and
populations. Malnutrition impacts the risk of disease, the cause of the
disease, and enhances the risk of mortality (Allison et al., 1997;
Bigaard et al., 2004; Reis et al., 2009). The risk of morbidity
and mortality increases particularly with increasing abdominal fat (Mathieu et
al., 2008), while the body mass index (BMI) alone does not represent an
adequate predictive indicator of the individual health status (Ashwell et al.,
2012; Gualdi-Russo et al., 2015;
Maffetone et al., 2015).
Malnutrition is a pathological state
resulting from a deficiency or wrong proportion of essential nutrients.
Malnutrition has serious implications for people and communities thus,
hindering the socioeconomic and human development of a nation as one of the
most critical health issues because of its long lasting negative effects (Muller and Krawinkel, 2005; Akinyemi and Ibraheem, 2009; Khattak and Khan, 2009). Nutrition assessment is the system
of determining conditions of nutritional health of a person, or a group of
persons. Nutrition status is assessed in different ways which includes;
anthropometry, dietary intakes, biochemical
and clinical methods. All these methods can be applied to the assessment of
nutritional status of individuals or groups (Carraça
et al., 2011).
1.2 STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM
Body dissatisfaction often occurs among adolescents because
of their transition period, which is characterized by rapid growth and
development as well as continuous changes in their bodies. Youngsters
dissatisfied with their body image commonly report more complaints of psychosocial
health problems such as difficulty to sleep at night, feeling nervous, stressed
or depressed, having low self-esteem and low quality of life (Lo et al., 2011).
In
adolescence, however, body image dissatisfaction often leads to adoption of aberrant
dietary habits and inadequate weight management practices, such as
self-medication with diuretics and laxatives, purging, and exercising to
exhaustion (Alves et al., 2008). Usually, girls aspire to became thinner
while boys tend to desire an athletic body shape (Hargreaves and Tiggemann,
2009). Incorrect recognition of body weight status as well as negative body
image is a threat to weight control as it may be associated with unhealthy
behaviors and psychosocial morbidities (Stice et
al., 2011).
Physical
and cognitive development may be hindered in adolescents and young adults who
engage in inadequate behaviors due to body image dissatisfaction (Robinson et al.,
2001), leading to poor nutritional status, low
self-esteem, stunted psychosocial development, clinical depression (Stice et al., 2000) and increased risk of eating disorders compared to that of adolescents
who are pleased with their body image (Vilela et
al., 2004).
Adolescents generally prefer to eat among
their peers. Some common eating habits of adolescents include fasting, meal
skipping, unhealthy snacking and frequent fast-food consumption. Such eating
habits are associated with eating disorders (Anamika and Singh, 2012). Girls dissatisfied with their bodies
were likely to engage in unhealthy weight control behaviors such as dieting,
fasting, self- induced vomiting, use of laxatives and diet pills, behaviors
which were, however, not so common among boys.
1.3
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1.3.1 General objectives of
the study
The general objective of the study is to examine the body
image perception, anthropometric status and dietary habit of in School
Adolescent Girls in Awka South Local Government, Anambra State.
1.3.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The specific objectives of the study are to:
1. determine the
socio-economic and socio demographic characteristics of the adolescent.
2. assess the body image
perception of the adolescent.
3. assess Dietary patterns of
the adolescent.
4. assess the anthropometric
status of the students (Body Mass Index and Waist-Hip Ratio).
5. to determine the
relationship between body image perception and body mass index of students.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
More research is needed in this area as information about it
will add to the existing knowledge, as well as provide a framework to plan
preventive educational programmes for adolescents. Furthermore, this will help
professionals to increase their index of suspicion to detect cases that may be
present under the guise of physical or emotional illness.
It is important to understand the
relationship between body image and lifestyle habits of late adolescents so
that the appropriate interventions can be developed to guide this population
toward a more positive body image.
This study may contribute to
the advancement of knowledge in healthcare, especially for the health care of
adolescents.
Considering that body image
may plays an important role in managing and maintaining a healthy body weight,
the identification of factors associated to body image distortion can be
crucial in promoting a healthy weight at this age.
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