Body weight has no impact on self-esteem of minority children living in inner city, low-income neighborhoods: a cross-sectional study

BMC Pediatrics

E O’Brian Smith¹  Karen L Konzelmann¹  Louis A Moore²  Debra Lathan²  Christina L Ortiz²  Carmen Mikhail³  William W Wong¹ 

[1] Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Houston, TX, USA;Houston Parks and Recreation Department, City of Houston, Houston, TX, USA;Texas Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

关键词: Obesity;    Minority;    Children;    Self-esteem;   

Others  :  1143936
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2431-14-19

 received in 2013-07-31, accepted in 2014-01-22,  发布年份 2014

【 摘 要 】

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.

【 授权许可】

   
2014 Wong et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

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