Telma Maria Braga Costa

Body image dissatisfaction and its relationship with physical activity and body mass index in Brazilian adolescents

Objective: To evaluate body image dissatisfaction and its relationship with physical activity and body mass index in a Brazilian sample of adolescents. Methods: A total of 275 adolescents (139 boys and 136 girls) between the ages of 14 and 18 years completed measures of body image dissatisfaction through the Contour Drawing Scale and current physical activity by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Weight and height were also measured for subsequent calculation of body mass index. Results: Boys and girls differed significantly regarding body image dissatisfaction, with girls reporting higher levels of dissatisfaction. Underweight and eutrophic boys preferred to be heavier, while those overweight preferred be thinner and, in contrast, girls desired to be thinner even when they are of normal weight. Conclusion: Body image dissatisfaction was strictly related to body mass index, but not to physical activity.

Body image in Brazil: recent advances in the state of knowledge and methodological issues

OBJECTIVE To analyze Brazilian literature on body image and the theoretical and methodological advances that have been made. METHODS A detailed review was undertaken of the Brazilian literature on body image, selecting published articles, dissertations and theses from the SciELO, SCOPUS, LILACS and PubMed databases and the CAPES thesis database. Google Scholar was also used. There was no start date for the search, which used the following search terms: “body image” AND “Brazil” AND “scale(s)”; “body image” AND “Brazil” AND “questionnaire(s)”; “body image” AND “Brazil” AND “instrument(s)”; “body image” limited to Brazil and “body image”. RESULTS The majority of measures available were intended to be used in college students, with half of them evaluating satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the body. Females and adolescents of both sexes were the most studied population. There has been a significant increase in the number of available instruments. Nevertheless, numerous published studies have used non-validated instruments, with much confusion in the use of the appropriate terms (e.g., perception, dissatisfaction, distortion). CONCLUSIONS Much more is needed to understand body image within the Brazilian population, especially in terms of evaluating different age groups and diversifying the components/dimensions assessed. However, interest in this theme is increasing, and important steps have been taken in a short space of time.

Translation and Cross-Cultural Adaptation of a Brazilian Version of the Child Feeding Questionnaire

The Child Feeding Questionnaire (CFQ) assesses parental attitudes, beliefs and practices about child feeding and obesity proneness. This research aimed to translate and to test the reliability of the CFQ and to evaluate this instrument in Brazilian families. The participants were 300 mothers and 300 children, aging from 2 to 11 years old, of both sexes. The translation, synthesis, back-translation, evaluation by an expert committee and pre-test were performed. Besides the application of questionnaire to mothers, data regarding anthropometric measurements in mothers and children was collected. The indexes of content validity index, test-retest reliability and internal consistencies were good. The parental factors Perceived parent weight, Perceived child weight, Concern about child weight, Restriction, Pressure to eat and Monitoring on child feeding were associated with overweight in childhood. In conclusion, these results highlight the validity and utility of the Brazilian version of the CFQ.O Questionario de Alimentacao da Crianca (QAC) avalia as crencas, atitudes e praticas dos pais em relacao a alimentacao e a propensao a obesidade dos filhos. Este estudo objetivou traduzir e testar a fidedignidade do QAC e avaliar este instrumento em familias brasileiras. Os participantes foram 300 maes e 300 criancas, de 2 a 11 anos, de ambos os sexos. Realizou-se a traducao, sintese, retro-traducao, avaliacao por comite de especialistas e pre-teste.Para alem da aplicacao do questionario as maes, foram tambem recolhidos dados realtivos a avaliacao antropometrica das maes e filhos. Os indices de validade de conteudo, confiabilidade teste-reteste e consistencia interna foram adequados. Os fatores Percepcao do peso dos pais, Percepcao do peso da crianca, Preocupacao com o peso da crianca, Restricao, Pressao para comer e Monitoramento mostraram-se associados com a obesidade infantil. Em conclusao, esses resultados destacam a validade e a utilidade da versao brasileira do CFQ.