We Like to Move it Move it: Relationships between Body Esteem and Exercise
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Psychology/ABA
Minor
Criminal Justice
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Amanda Joyce
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted people’s lives in a number of domains, not least of which is their physical health. People who were active before the pandemic tended to maintain their exercise habits while those who were not were likely to increase their exercise behavior (Timme et al., 2020). Men and women report beginning exercise regimes with different goals. Namely, women report exercising to become thin and fit and men to build muscle (Hausenblas & Fallon, 2002). While exercise benefits the perception of one’s body, there is little evidence that a single session will have any effect on this perception (Vocks et al., 2009, Rica et al., 2018). This study examines the association between exercise and body esteem. It was hypothesized that those who exercise more frequently would score higher on their perception of body esteem.
Procedure: Data were collected from a sample of 29 students from a midwestern university. Participants ranged in age from 18-69 (M= 22.28, SD= 9.65), with 72.4% being female, 72.4% being Caucasian, and 44.8% being freshmen. This study was a part of a larger investigation of human behavior, conducted as a class project. The measures used were the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (Godin, 2011) and The Body Esteem Scale (Franzoi and Shields, 1984), which had reliabilities of .401 and .969 respectively.
Results: A .05 level of significance was used for analysis. In order to test the hypothesis that exercise was associated with body esteem a Pearson’s correlation was run. Results indicated that there was not a significant correlation between exercise and male body esteem (p>.05) but there was a significant correlation between exercise and female body esteem (p<.001; see Table 1).
Conclusion/Implications: This study examined the association between the frequency of exercise and body esteem. The hypothesis was partially supported, as body esteem and exercise were associated in women, but not men. Previous research shows that inactivity is not associated with body image in adolescents (Gaddad et al., 2018), so it is possible that the lack of association seen in our male participants reflects inactivity in some of those participants. Indeed, while the average male participant reported more exercise in our sample, there was also greater variability in these exercise habits. Results emphasize the important role that exercise can play in young adult mental health. Implications and further directions will be discussed in more detail during the presentation.
Fall Scholars Week 2022 Event
Psychology: Completed Projects
We Like to Move it Move it: Relationships between Body Esteem and Exercise
Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted people’s lives in a number of domains, not least of which is their physical health. People who were active before the pandemic tended to maintain their exercise habits while those who were not were likely to increase their exercise behavior (Timme et al., 2020). Men and women report beginning exercise regimes with different goals. Namely, women report exercising to become thin and fit and men to build muscle (Hausenblas & Fallon, 2002). While exercise benefits the perception of one’s body, there is little evidence that a single session will have any effect on this perception (Vocks et al., 2009, Rica et al., 2018). This study examines the association between exercise and body esteem. It was hypothesized that those who exercise more frequently would score higher on their perception of body esteem.
Procedure: Data were collected from a sample of 29 students from a midwestern university. Participants ranged in age from 18-69 (M= 22.28, SD= 9.65), with 72.4% being female, 72.4% being Caucasian, and 44.8% being freshmen. This study was a part of a larger investigation of human behavior, conducted as a class project. The measures used were the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire (Godin, 2011) and The Body Esteem Scale (Franzoi and Shields, 1984), which had reliabilities of .401 and .969 respectively.
Results: A .05 level of significance was used for analysis. In order to test the hypothesis that exercise was associated with body esteem a Pearson’s correlation was run. Results indicated that there was not a significant correlation between exercise and male body esteem (p>.05) but there was a significant correlation between exercise and female body esteem (p<.001; see Table 1).
Conclusion/Implications: This study examined the association between the frequency of exercise and body esteem. The hypothesis was partially supported, as body esteem and exercise were associated in women, but not men. Previous research shows that inactivity is not associated with body image in adolescents (Gaddad et al., 2018), so it is possible that the lack of association seen in our male participants reflects inactivity in some of those participants. Indeed, while the average male participant reported more exercise in our sample, there was also greater variability in these exercise habits. Results emphasize the important role that exercise can play in young adult mental health. Implications and further directions will be discussed in more detail during the presentation.