title: Mediating effects of body composition between physical activity and body esteem in Hong Kong adolescents: a structural equation modeling approach.
abstract: This study investigated the mediating role of body mass index (BMI) in the relationship between physical activity and body esteem in adolescents. Nine hundred and five Hong Kong Chinese students aged 12-18 years participated in a cross-sectional study in 2007. Students' BMI was computed as an indicator of their body composition. Their physical activity level and body esteem were examined using the Physical Activity Rating for Children and Youth (PARCY) and Body Esteem Scale (BES), respectively. Structural equation modelling was used to investigate the mediating effects of BMI and physical activity in predicting body esteem, with stratification by sex. The overall fit of the hypothesized models was satisfactory in boys (NFI = 0.94; NNFI = 0.88; CFI = 0.95; RMSEA = 0.07) and girls (NFI = 0.89; NNFI = 0.77; CFI = 0.91; RMSEA = 0.11). When BMI was considered as a mediator, higher physical activity had a significant negative total effect on body esteem in boys, but not in girls. The indirect effect of higher physical activity on body esteem via BMI was positive in boys, but negative in girls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Regular physical activity may help overweight adolescents, especially boys, improve their body esteem. Kinesiologists and health professionals could explore the use of physical activity prescriptions for weight management, aiming at body esteem improvement in community health programs for adolescents.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Among Western adolescents, negative body esteem is more pervasive in girls than in boys. There are consistent findings of the association between higher body mass index and lower body esteem in adolescents, but the association between physical activity and body esteem are equivocal.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  A negative association between body mass index and body esteem was found in both Hong Kong adolescent boys and girls. The indirect effect of physical activity on body esteem via body mass index was positive in Hong Kong adolescent boys, but negative in girls.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and School Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. kkmak@graduate.hku.hk.
authors.forename: Kwok-Kei
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Mak
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Performance, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. ecerin@hku.hk.|School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia. ecerin@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Ester
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cerin
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. ali.mcmanus@ubc.ca.
authors.forename: Alison M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong. ecmlai@psy.cuhk.edu.hk.
authors.forename: Ching-Man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. jrday@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Jeffrey R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Day
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and School Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong. syho@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Sai-Yin
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Ho
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D001828:Body Image; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent
keywords: Adolescents; Body esteem; Body mass index; Physical activity