title: Adolescent overweight, obesity and chronic disease-related health practices: mediation by body image.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine whether body image mediates the association between overweight/obesity and chronic disease-related health practices (CDRHP), including lack of physical activity (PA), infrequent breakfast consumption (IBC), screen-based media use (SBM), and smoking.
  
  
  METHODS
  The 2006 Health Behaviors in School-Age Children survey was administered to a nationally representative sample of US students (n = 8,028) in grades 6-10 (mean age = 14.3 years). Outcome variables included self-reported measures of PA, SBM, IBC, and smoking. Body image was assessed with 5 items from the Body Investment Scale (α = 0.87) asking for agreement/disagreement with statements about one's body. Stratifying on gender, an initial regression model estimated the association between overweight/obesity and CDRHP. Mediation models that included body image were then compared to the initial model to determine the role of body image in the relationship between overweight/obesity and CDRHP.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among boys, body image mediated the relationships of overweight/obesity with SBM, and of obesity with IBC. Among girls, it mediated the relationships of obesity with PA, IBC, and smoking, and of overweight with SBM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As the prevalence of overweight/obesity among adolescent boys and girls remains high, efforts to improve their body image could result in less frequent engagement in CDRHP.
authors.affiliation: Prevention Research Branch, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Tilda
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Farhat
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Iannotti
authors.forename: Laura J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Caccavale
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D062408:Breakfast; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003201:Computers; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D050177:Overweight; D015995:Prevalence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D057185:Sedentary Behavior; D057566:Self Report; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D013690:Television; D014481:United States