Perception of body image and nutritional status in adolescents of public schools

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess body image dissatisfaction among adolescents from Northern Minas Gerais. Method: This is a cross-sectional study with adolescents of both sexes, enrolled in the sixth to ninth year in the municipal public education network. A questionnaire was used, composed of sociodemographic and body image variables, which was obtained through a scale of silhouette figures. The anthropometric measurements of weight and height were performed to estimate body mass index. The correlation between the classification of the body mass index and the body image of adolescents was estimated through weighted Kappa. Results: A total of 535 adolescents participated, and 24.5% had different classifications between the real and ideal body image. The Kappa index for the classification of body image was 0.51, 0.58 and 0.32 for the total of adolescents, girls and boys, respectively. Conclusion: Public school adolescents are dissatisfied with their self-body image.