Abstract
Body image, according to the definition by Ledoux et al.(1)1 Ledoux M, Mongeau L, Rivard M. Poids et image corporelle. Enquête sociale et de santé auprès des enfants et adolescents québécois 1999. Québec: Institut de la statistique du Québec; 2002. p. 311-334. Cited by Roy M, Payette H. The body image construct about Western seniors: A systematic review of a literature. Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2012;55 (3):505-21. is “the systematic, cognitive, affective, conscious, and unconscious representation that people have concerning their bodies during their biological development and throughout their social relationships”.
Objective:
To determine the prevalence of body image satisfaction (BIS) and its relationship with sociodemographic, functional and clinical aspects in older adults.
Methods:
A cross-sectional, analytical and prospective study of a random sample of older adults from all health districts of Porto Alegre (30 health units) was conducted. The following aspects were studied: sociodemographic data (sex, age, marital status and education), BIS (Stunkard’s scale), functional tests (30 seconds Sit/Stand Test, time to walk 10m, Handgrip Strength - HGS), physical activity (Minnesota Questionnaire) and cognition (Mini-Mental State Examination).
Results:
Most of the 532 participants were dissatisfied with their body image (92.5%), particularly the women (71.7%). After Binary Logistic Regression (6 steps), BIS predictors were: high scores for the Sit/Stand (OR: 1.13; p=0.013), higher HGS (OR: 1.06; p=0.049), shorter time engaged in physical activity (OR: 0.77; p<0.001).
Conclusion:
The prevalence of BIS was low and most of the variables analyzed bore no relation to BIS. Notwithstanding, a relationship was found with greater HGS, higher Sit/Stand score and less time engaged in physical activity. Given the scarcity of studies on this subject, our study furthers the knowledge on how body image affects this population group.
Key words:
aged; aging; body image; primary health care; public health