Sport, physical activity and physical education experiences: associations with functional body image in children

The relationship between functional body image and children’s experiences in differing physical activity contexts, including physical education, sports club participation and habitual physical activity, and gender differences, was investigated. Participants were 300 grade-six students (150 girls), who were assessed for functional body image (Embodied Image Scale), attitude toward physical education, sports club participation (questionnaires) and physical activity (accelerometers). General-linear-mixed-modelling was used to investigate relationships between functional body image and the three physical activity contexts. Results indicated that children who held more positive attitudes towards physical education and those who were a member of a sports club had better functional body image; and that a positive effect of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity on behavioral functional body image was evident among boys only. Our data suggest that future interventions aiming to improve children’s functional body image may benefit from focusing on physical education in schools and encouraging participation in organized sports clubs.