PERCEPTION OF BODY IMAGE AND ACTIONS TAKEN TO MODIFY IT BY PUPILS IN THE FIRST CYCLE OF COMPULSORY SECONDARY EDUCATION AND THE PERSPECTIVE OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

Abstract

The aim of this research is to find out the perception that pupils in the first cycle of Compulsory Secondary Education have of their body image, as well as the actions they take to modify it, for which the point of view of their Physical Education teachers has also been taken into account. A cross-sectional study was carried out, which can be considered as a descriptive and interpretative research following the classification of Latorre et al (2003). In order to obtain the information, 526 students answered the HAVISAES questionnaire, from which the questions and answers related to the field of research were selected. In addition, in order to find out about the thoughts, beliefs and knowledge of eight Physical Education teachers of these pupils, a discussion group was held, with the aim of finding out more about this perspective in relation to body image and the actions taken by pre-adolescents to modify it.

Among other data from the analysis, it stands out that 66.4% of boys and 61.6% of girls have a normal perception of their weight. There are 14.1% of female pupils and 8.2% of male pupils who responded that they have followed a diet "without medical supervision". Finally, more girls indicate that they do physical activity to keep in shape and/or lose weight than boys, an opinion which coincides with that expressed by teachers.

As far as teachers are concerned, they are of the opinion that most pupils are considered to be of a normal weight, although the first cases of dissatisfaction are beginning to appear, which may lead to cases of eating disorders, which they point out are difficult to detect. In spite of this, they see themselves capable of detecting and dealing with them.