title: Physical self-efficacy is associated to body mass index in schoolchildren.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical self-efficacy and body mass index in a large sample of schoolchildren.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Perceived Physical Ability Scale for Children was administered to 1560 children (50.4% boys; 8-12 years) from three different countries. Weight and height were also recorded to obtain the body mass index.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In agreement with the literature, the boys reported greater perceived physical self-efficacy than girls. Moreover, the number of boys who are obese is double that of girls, while the number of boys who are underweight is half that found in girls. In the linear regression model, the increase in body mass index was negatively related to the physical self-efficacy score, differently for boys and girls. Furthermore, age and nationality also were predictors of low physical self-efficacy only for girls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of this study reinforce the importance of psychological aspect of obesity, as the perceived physical self-efficacy and body mass index were negatively associated in a sample of schoolchildren for boys and girls.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Laboratório de Cronobiologia e Sono, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil. Electronic address: alicia.ufrgs@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carissimi
authors.affiliation: Universitat de Barcelona, Facultad de Psicología, Departamento de Psiquiatría y Psicobiología Clínica, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat de Barcelona, Institut de Recerca en Cervell, Cognició i Conducta (IR3C), Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adan
authors.affiliation: Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tonetti
authors.affiliation: Seconda Università degli Studi di Napoli, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Laboratório de Cronobiologia e Sono, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Faculdade de Medicina, Departamento de Psiquiatria e Medicina Legal, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Paz
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA), Laboratório de Cronobiologia e Sono, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psiquiatria e Ciências do Comportamento, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Levandovski
authors.affiliation: Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Natale
authors.affiliation: Università di Bologna, Dipartimento di Medicina Specialistica, Diagnostica e Sperimentale, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martoni
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Autoeficácia física; Childhood; Escala de Capacidade Física Percebida para Crianças; Infância; Obesidade; Obesity; Overweight; Perceived Physical Ability Scale for Children; Physical self-efficacy; Sobrepeso