Body weight has no impact on self-esteem of minority children living in inner city, low-income neighborhoods: a cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
The relationship between body weight and self-esteem among underserved minority children is not well documented.


METHODS
We measured the self-esteem profile using the Self-Perception Profile for Children among 910 minority children at 17 Houston community centers.


RESULTS
Weight status had no effect on any of the self-esteem scores among the minority children (P ≥ 0.21). Black children had higher scholastic competence than Hispanic children (P = 0.05). Social acceptance was not affected by age, gender, and race/ethnicity (P ≥ 0.13). Significant age x gender (P = 0.006) and race x gender (P = 0.005) interactions were detected on athletic competence. The younger boys had higher athletic competence than the younger and older girls (P ≤ 0.01). The older boys had higher athletic competence than the older girls (P = 0.008) but their scores were not different from those of the younger girls (P = 0.07). Within each race/ethnicity group, boys had higher athletic competence than girls (P ≤ 0.03). Black boys had higher athletic competence than Hispanic girls (P = 0.007) but their scores were not different from those of the Hispanic boys (P = 0.08). Age and gender had no effect on physical appearance but black children had higher scores than Hispanic children (P = 0.05). Behavioral conduct was not affected by age, gender, or race/ethnicity (P ≥ 0.11). There was an age x gender interaction on global self-worth (P = 0.02) with boys having similar scores regardless of ages (P = 0.40) or ethnicity (P = 0.98). However, boys from both age groups had higher global self-worth than the older girls (P ≤ 0.04) but their scores were not different from those of the younger girls (P ≥ 0.07).


CONCLUSIONS
For the first time, we documented that being normal weight did not necessarily guarantee positive self-esteem among minority children. Their self-esteem scores were similar to those found among children who were diagnosed with obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities and lower than those reported among normal-weight white children. Therefore, activities to promote self-esteem are important when working with underserved minority children in order to promote a healthy lifestyle.
Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX, USA. wwong@bcm.edu.
William W
WW
Wong
Carmen
C
Mikhail
Christina L
CL
Ortiz
Debra
D
Lathan
Louis A
LA
Moore
Karen L
KL
Konzelmann
E O'Brian
EO
Smith
D001741:Black or African American; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008913:Minority Groups / Q000523:psychology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology; D011203:Poverty; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012649:Self Concept; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013781:Texas; D014505:Urban Population; D044465:White People