Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence: The Role of Motivation for Physical Activity, Self-Esteem, Implicit and Explicit Attitudes toward Obesity and Physical Activity

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to compare attitudes toward body weight and physical activity in both regular-weight and overweight/obese children and adolescents, and assessing relations between attitudes and self-esteem, motivation for physical activity, life satisfaction and level of physical activity. A total of 126 children (Mage = 12.2, SD = 3.4), divided into two subsamples (i.e., overweight/obese, N = 44, and regular-weight), voluntarily participated in the study. A series of univariate analyses of variance was conducted to examine the differences in the study variables across the subsamples. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the relationships among the variables. The results indicated that obese/overweight participants expressed a more positive implicit attitude toward the thin category than regular-weight participants. Furthermore, among overweight/obese participants, implicit attitude toward physical activity was significantly negatively correlated with explicit attitude toward physical activity and general self-esteem. Significant differences between obese/overweight and regular-weight participants indicated that the status in terms of weight played a key role in attitudes toward the explored constructs.

Keywords: life satisfaction; motivation for physical activity; self-esteem; weight stigma; well-being in adolescence; well-being in childhood.

Figure 1

Extract from congruent (a) and incongruent (b) Thin–Obese IAT block.

Figure 2

Extract from congruent (a) and incongruent (b) Physical Activity–Physical Inactivity IAT block.