Body awareness, nutrition and health of adolescents attending physical education lessons

Abstract

We aimed to study the correlation between body awareness, nutrition and physical-mental health and gender differences among participants aged 16-18. A total of 263 volunteers participated in the study (123 males and 140 females). The three-factor eating questionnaire (TFEQ-18), SF-12 General Health Questionnaire and Body Awareness Questionnaire were used as data collection tools. For statistical analysis; Since the distribution is not normal, the Spearman Correlation Coefficient was used for correlation analysis and the Mann Whitney U test was used to observe gender differences. We got a negative correlation between the male participants' uncontroll edeating score and mental health. In addition, a negative correlation was observed between the emotional eating variable and physical health in males, which measures the relationship between negative moods, such as loneliness, anxiety, or depressed mood, and over-eating. Female participants showed a weak correlation between body awareness and uncontrolled eating, body awareness and cognitive restraint, and body awareness and susceptibility to hunger. The difference between male and female participants for emotional eating was statistically significant. Our study indicates that acquiring healthy living habits at an early age will be the basis for the healthy adulthood process.