Insatisfação da Imagem Corporal: prevalência e fatores associados entre estudantes universitários da área da saúde

Abstract

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of body dissatisfaction due to excess weight and to verify the associated factors among university students in the health area. This is a cross-sectional study carried out with 106 university students from health courses at a public university of Mato Grosso do Sul. Sociodemographic and economic information was collected (age, gender, race/color, housing status, marital status and socioeconomic class) as well as self-reported weight and height to determine body mass index, information on physical activity and application of the body image assessment test. Among the study participants, 74.5% were aged between 18 and 23 and 89.6% were female. 33.0% of university students were overweight and 76.4% reported not practicing physical activity. The prevalence of body image dissatisfaction was 72.6%. In the bivariate analyses, the prevalence of body dissatisfaction due to excess was 1.44 times higher among overweight and obese individuals when compared to eutrophic individuals (91.3%, p=0.001; 91.7%, p=0.004 versus 63.2%, respectively). The other variables were not associated with the outcome investigated. The importance of studies related to the selected topic is evident so that effective public policies can be built to promote the well-being of the academic community.