Key result
Cardiovascular fitness moderated the relationship between obesity and physical self-perceptions, with higher BMI and waist circumference associated with poorer self-perceptions primarily in less fit children.
Cross-Sectional (n=104)
No
In rural elementary school children, cardiovascular fitness moderates the negative impact of obesity on physical self-perceptions.
May indicate fitness buffers obesity effects on children's self-perception; cross-sectional data leave causality and intervention effects open.
BACKGROUND: Levels of physical activity decline throughout childhood. Children's physical self-perceptions have been found to relate to their physical activity. Understanding the relationships among physical self-perceptions, obesity, and physical activity could have important implications for interventions in children. METHODS: The current study investigated the moderating effect of cardiovascular fitness (CVF, heart rate recovery from a 3-minute step test) on the relationship between obesity (BMI, waist circumference) and physical self-perceptions (athletic competence, physical appearance) in 104 fourth- and fifth-grade children from a small rural community. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that CVF moderated the relations between BMI and waist circumference on athletic competence. For children with lower fitness, higher waist circumference was associated with lower athletic competence, while for children with higher fitness levels, higher BMI was associated with higher athletic competence. Results also indicated that both BMI and waist circumference were negatively related to physical appearance. CVF moderated these relations such that only children with lower fitness, greater BMI and waist circumference was associated with poorer physical appearance scores. CONCLUSIONS: Implications include the need for support of fitness programs to promote psychological well-being and to investigate the relationship between obesity and physical self-perceptions within the context of fitness.
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Mitchell et al. (2012) conducted a cross-sectional in Obesity and physical self-perceptions (n=104). Cardiovascular fitness and obesity (BMI, waist circumference) was evaluated on Moderating effect of cardiovascular fitness on the relationship between obesity and physical self-perceptions. Cardiovascular fitness moderated the relationship between obesity and physical self-perceptions, with higher BMI and waist circumference associated with poorer self-perceptions primarily in less fit children.
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