Effects of 12-week extracurricular multilateral training on body image perception among youth

Purpose: Body image is closely linked to psychological well-being during adolescence. Physical activity is effective for improving body image disturbance and to date limited body image interventions were undertaken through physical education. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a supervised 12-week extracurricular multilateral training intervention on body-image dis- satisfaction and body-size self-perception. Methods: 100 students, aged 14-15 years, were assigned to multi- lateral training group (MG, n = 50; 25 M, 25F) that did not practice any extracurricular physical activity in the period before the study, or Control group (CG, n = 50; 25 M, 25F) that regularly practiced team sports outside the school hours for at least 3 years. At baseline and after 12 weeks, anthropometric measurements and two standardized psychological tests to assess the degree of personal satisfaction towards their body were administered (i.e., Body uneasiness test (BUT) and contour drawing rating scale (CDRS)). Results: After multilateral training intervention, significant differ- ences in the total MG for body weight (-1.36 ± 2.03 kg, p 0.0001), BUT (-0.54 ± 1.49, p = 0.032) and CDRS (-1.26 ± 3.92, p = 0.037) scores were detected. Females of the MG showed significant improvement in body weight (-1.49 ± 2.22 kg, p = 0.003) and BUT (-0.76 ± 1.56, p = 0.040), whereas males showed improvement in body weight (-1.24 ± 1.85 kg, p = 0.003) alone. CG showed no significant changes (p [ 0.05). Conclusions: Findings suggest that a multilateral approach, consist- ing in supervised exercises aimed to develop conditional and coordinative motor abilities, could increase the satisfaction with their bodies in adolescents. However, girls always showed higher scores than boys and this indicates greater dissatisfaction and uneasiness with their bodies. Thus, to aid positive psychological health in ado- lescents, extracurricular activities such as multilateral training should be considered by physical educators.