Imagem corporal e comportamentos relacionados à saúde em adultos: estudo longitudinal de saúde do adulto (elsa-brasil), 2008-2010

• Ano de defesa: 2015
• Autor(a) principal: Carolina Gomes Coelho
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: por
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; UFMG
• Palavras-chave em Português: Satisfação com a imagem corporal; Atividade física; ELSA Brasil; Percepção do peso; Imagem corporal; Saúde do adulto; Serviços de saúde; Satisfação pessoal
• Link de acesso: http://hdl.handle.net/1843/BUBD-ADSGF6

Introduction: Body image has been increasingly discussed in the scientific community because of its relation to obesity and its impact to influence individuals to adopt a healthy lifestyle. There is evidence that satisfaction with body image may be related to habits such as physical activity, as well as the perception of body image may be related to several factors not yet well defined. Objectives: This thesis has two objectives, namely: 1) verify whether the dissatisfaction with body image and nutritional status, indicated by body mass index and the waist / height ratio, are independently associated with the intensity of physical activity and whether this association differs between men and women; 2) investigate and describe which factors may be related to the misperception of weight status among adults. Methodology: The sample of this study is from the baseline of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health, comprised of 15,105 adults and elderly, government employees from universities and research centers located in six Brazilian states: Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul. Two articles were developed, each referring to one of the goals. In the first article, the response variable was the level of physical activity, categorized into three intensities. In an adult population (35-64 years), by means of logistic regression, we estimated the chance to practice physical activity in the presence of the variables satisfaction with body image, body mass index and the waist / height ratio. In the second article, by means of logistic regression, it was investigated which sociodemographic, behavioral, anthropometric and psychological factors were related to the misperception of weight status in adulthood according to sex (35-64 years). Results: In the first article, the body image dissatisfaction was present even among normal weight individuals of both sexes and was associated with lesser chances of practicing moderate physical activity in women and intense physical activity in men. Men and women with central obesity were less prone to practice physical activity of high or moderate intensity. Overweight and obese men were more likely to report vigorous physical activity while obese women were less likely to report this level of physical activity. The second article presented that, in both sexes, older age, former smoking and binge eating were associated with greater chances of overestimating the weight, while higher educational level was related to less chances of underestimate their weight. Among men, the chances of underestimating the weight were also higher in non-manual/routine occupations and those with depression; and lower in heavy drinkers. In women, lower schooling was associated to greater chances of underestimation, but with no consistent gradient. Conclusions: Our results reveal that the participants from the multicenter study ELSA-Brazil have low body awareness and do not exercise sufficiently. The high prevalence of overweight and obesity observed may have contributed to the low body perception. Body image dissatisfaction and misperception of weight status seem to be associated with behaviors related to health in a negative way, such as physical inactivity, alcohol consumption and binge eating. However, it is clear that the body image does not seem to relate as robustly with the factors included in the study, but it can be considered an indicator of unhealthy behaviors and highlight the need for changes in lifestyle. It is important that individuals are able to distinguish between the ideal body advocated by the media and the healthy body. Thus, the accurate perception of body image can help promote positive changes in lifestyle and other appropriate weight control measures and beneficial to health and well-being.