The Effects Of At Home Resistance Training On Body Image In Obese Adolescent Latino Males

PURPOSE: Body Image dissatisfaction (BID) is defined as the difference between actual and desired image. Dissatisfaction with one’s body image in a common psychological phenomenon on Wester societies. However, there is a paucity in the data on body image in Latino populations particularly in youth. The purpose of the study as to examine the effects of a 16-week at home resistance training program on body image in obese adolescent Hispanic males. METHODS: 32 Obese Latino adolescent males (mean age = 15.6 + 0.9 years) with a family history of type 2 diabetes. Participants were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1) Control (n = 16) or Home-Based Strength Training (n = 16). C - No intervention. HBST - Progressive program 2X week for 16 weeks. A body figure perception and preference among adolescent’s scale was completed by all participants. This 5-point scale asks participants to rate what they look like before and after the exercise intervention. All testing was completed before and after the 16-week intervention. Statistics performed were, Wilcoxon signed rank test and Repeated Measures General Linear Model. RESULTS: Wilcoxon Signed rank test showed no significant differences in age (p = 0.73), height (p = 0.31), weight (p = 0.433); BMI, (p = 0.499) between the groups at baseline. There no significant differences in the control group or the intervention group for “what I look like (p = 0.241; p = 0.938). For “what I want to look like” there were also no significant difference in the control and intervention groups (p = 0.938; p = 0.699). GLM also showed no significant within subject or between subjects for “what I look like” (F = 0.287; p = 0.107; F = 0.357, p = 0.559). For “what I want to look like” there were again no significant within subject or between subjects for “what I look like” (F = 0.200; p = 0.660; F = 0.178, p = 0.678). CONCLUSION: This is the first study to examine the effects of a homebased strength training study in obese Latino adolescents. While the results show HBST had no effect on body image this topic warrants further study.