Body image in physical education: a narrative review

Figures & data

Figure 1. Overview of text selection process.

Table 1. Summary of the literature’s general characteristics.

Authors (year), country	Age or school level of participants	Nature and extent of pedagogical intervention, if relevant	Conceptualization of body image	Type of data generated	Impact of pedagogical intervention or traditional PE on body image
Annesi et al. (2015), US	Students in grade 9	Classroom-based lessons covering: benefits of physical activity, goal setting, developing exercise plans, relation of self-concept to exercise, influence of peers and media on body image. 40 min per week for six weeks	Body image as body satisfaction	Self-reported pre- and post-survey data based on the Godin–Shephard Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, the Brunel Mood Scale, the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire scale	Intervention. The intervention resulted in a short-term improvement in exercise volume, overall mood and body satisfaction with greatest improvements occurring for those least active
Azzarito et al. (2016), US	Students in grade 10	Theory-based lessons organized around the notions of the cultural body, the role of gender and the role of the media. Involved the presentation of visual images and personal journals. 60 min per week for seven weeks	Body image as embodied identity and sense of self, which is affected by societal norms	Extensive descriptive field notes, participants’ visual diaries and written reflections on body issues, transcripts from multiple formal interviews using photo-elicitation	Intervention. Participants rejected unhealthy body ideals presented in the media but did not change their personal views of their own bodies. Personal views continued to be embedded within narrow, heteronormative ideals
Baena-Extremera et al. (2012), Spain	Students aged 15–16	Practical adventure education lessons focusing on problem solving and confidence activities, climbing techniques, and adventure games and sport. 18 lessons over 9 weeks	Body image as part of physical self-concept	Pre- and post-test survey data based on Intrinsic Satisfaction Classroom Scale, Physical Self-Perception Questionnaire and Scale of Social Goals-Physical Education	Intervention. Students finished the lessons with improved body image, along with improved self-esteem and physical condition
Ballı et al. (2014), Turkey	Students in grade 9–12		Body image as a perception of self that is affected by how others evaluate one’s physique	Data from self-report Likert-type scales assessing students’ mastery, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals, using the Trichotomous Achievement Goal Scale, and the Social Physique Anxiety Scale	Traditional PE. Adolescent girls’ are more focused on their performance and more likely to avoid situations where they could be judged as incompetent in PE settings than boys
Beltrán-Carrillo et al. (2018), Spain	Students aged 17–18		Body image as embodied identity and sense of self, which is affected by body discourses	Transcripts from semi-structured interviews concerning the body, identity and physical practice	Traditional PE. A desire to be slim and a fear of attaining masculinized female bodies affects adolescent girls’ decisions to be physically active. Not adhering to hegemonic ideals can lead to individuals being rejected and marginalized by both teacher and other classmates. Adolescents who are competent in sport are less influenced by body ideals
Bonavolontà et al. (2021), Italy	Students mean age 14.4 ± 0.3 years	Practical lessons based on walking and running. Lessons lasted 55 min and took place over 12 weeks (not stated how many lessons per week)	Body image as perceptions and thoughts about one’s body, including an evaluation of size and attractiveness	Pre- and post-test data from two standardized psychological tests: Contour drawing rating scale and the Body Shape Questionnaire-14	Intervention. Body image scores showed statistically significant improvement after participation in the intervention
Carmona et al. (2015), Spain	Students aged 12–16. PE teachers – mean age of 36.94 years		Body image as view of one’s body that is moulded by the interaction between personal traits and social ideas of beauty	Objective measures of weight and height from students and teachers. Self-report measures from students based on Physical Activity Index, Body Image Avoidance Questionnaires. Anti-Fat Attitudes questionnaire and survey based on Mosston’s teaching styles for teachers	Traditional PE. Students are more likely to exhibit body avoidance behaviours such as avoiding tight clothing, social meetings, and physical contact when classmates report a strong desire for thinness. The more experience and academic training the teacher has, the less likely it is that students reported using avoidance behaviours in PE
Catunda et al. (2017), Brazil	Students aged 13–18, four teachers	Practical lessons based on modified games that aimed to increase students’ physical activity levels. Intervention took place over three lessons (number of weeks and length of lessons not stated)	Body image as self-perception, which is affected by beauty ideals	Pre- and post-survey data based on Body Dissatisfaction Scale in Adolescents. Transcripts from focus groups	Intervention. The intervention had a positive effect on the students’ body image
Cox et al. (2017), US	Students in grades 9–12	Yoga lessons developed with a certified Anusara Yoga teacher that aimed to help students focus on the physical experiences of moving and maintain a compassionate and accepting view of the self. One 40 min and one 75 min lesson plus one introductory lesson – 25 lessons over 12 weeks	Body image as captured through trait and state body surveillance, physical self-worth, and body appreciation	Pre- and post-survey data on body surveillance, physical self-worth, and body appreciation using Body Surveillance subscale of the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale, the Global Physical Subscale of the Physical Self-Description Questionnaire and the Body Appreciation Scale. To assess lesson engagement, data were generated with items modified from the intrinsic motivation subscale of the Situational Motivation Scale. To assess students’ mindfulness, data were generated with the State Mindfulness Scale for Physical Activity	Intervention. The intervention resulted in moderate decreases in trait body surveillance and minimal, non-significant increases in self-worth
Fernández-Bustos et al. (2019), Spain	Students aged 12–17		Body image as physical self-concept and body dissatisfaction	Survey data based on two scales from the Physical Self-Concept Questionnaire (the general physical self-concept and the general self-concept), the Body Shape Questionnaire. BMI measurements and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire	Traditional PE. Physical activity can help adolescents to improve their self-concept and psychological wellbeing
Grosick et al. (2013), US	Middle school students		Body image as an individual’s thoughts and feelings about her/his physical appearance	Survey data on attitudes and behaviours regarding body image with two open-ended questions. Transcript data from two brief follow-up focus groups	Traditional PE. Appearance is important for male and female middle school students, but girls are more likely to report dieting, feeling depressed over appearance, and an inclination towards risky eating behaviours than boys
Halliwell et al. (2018), UK	Students aged 9–11	Lessons incorporated simple yoga asanas with a focus on breathing and relaxation. They were delivered by a qualified yoga instructor. One 40 min lesson per week for 4 weeks	Body image as body appreciation, body esteem and body surveillance	Survey data based on the Appearance subscale of the Body Esteem Scale for Children, The Body Appreciation Scale-2 for Children, The Positive and Negative Affect Scale for Children and feedback on the yoga lessons	Intervention. Students who participated in the intervention and students who participated in the traditional PE control group both reported increased body appreciation, body esteem, and decreased body surveillance
Johnson et al. (2013), Scotland, UK	Students aged 16		Body image as the ways in which individuals negotiate and resist discourses that relate to bodies	Transcripts from semi-structured interviews based on pictures representing diverse body images	Traditional PE. Healthism and body ideals are present in Scottish PE with students seeing health largely as the responsibility of the individual. However, students negotiate these discourses in different ways depending on their perceptions of knowledge and power. Negotiation can involve tensions. Teachers demonstrate an awareness of the challenges students face as a result of tensions
Lodewyk and Sullivan (2016), Canada	Students in grades 9 and 10		Body image as body size dissatisfaction	Questionnaires data focusing on body size dissatisfaction, self-reported fitness grade in the FIPE, and the eight-item self-efficacy and five-item TA scales from the 81-item self-report Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire	Traditional PE. Girls reported higher levels of body dissatisfaction than boys. Most girls wanted thinner bodies compared to boys, who were split between desiring bigger bodies and thinner bodies. Boys who wanted to be smaller reported significantly lower self-efficacy than other boys
McHugh and Kowalski (2011), Canada	High school students	A school-wide intervention that involved the organization of a committee that: planned activities including sports in the gym, lobbied for healthier school policies; arranged meetings dedicated to the topic of body image; established a personal writing group, and liaised with media outlets, amongst other activities. One school year	Body image as a set of experiences of one’s body	Student-created material such as creative writing about bodies and ‘wellness policy’, written records from body talk sessions	Intervention. Continued involvement of students and various other school members suggests that the initiatives organized during the project are meaningful for those involved
Olive et al. (2019), Australia	Students in grade 2–6	The intervention was based on a guided discovery approach, with lessons typically focusing on (1) coordination and agility drills, (2) skill activities, (3) movement challenges and games, (4) dynamic movement control and (5) core movement. Two 50 min lessons per week for four years.	Body image as self-perception, perceptions attributed to others, physical attributes and appearance satisfaction	Observations notes, questionnaire data based on the Children’s Depression Inventory, the Children’s Stress Questionnaire, and Body Self-Esteem Scale for Children. Pedometers, cardiorespiratory fitness tests, body composition measurements, the self-report Tanner stages pubertal development, socioeconomic status	Intervention. Girls that took part in the intervention reported a decrease in overall body dissatisfaction whereas girls in the control group reported a slight increase. No intervention effect occurred for boys
Powell & Fitzpatrick (2015), New Zealand	Students aged 9		Body image as understandings of bodies that are constructed through discourses and body pedagogies	Questionnaire data, photographs from fitness lessons, transcripts from photo-elicitation interviews	Traditional PE. After taking part in fitness lessons, students assumed that being fit involved demonstrating a particular bodily appearance and were likely to accept norms that reinforced self-monitoring and body dissatisfaction
Robertson & Thomson (2014), Canada	Students in grades 1–8	A body image programme was implemented at three separate schools in different ways (specific information on content and length of programme is not given).	Body image as how people picture themselves	Interview transcripts, observation notes, teachers’ reflective writing, samples of lessons and student work	Intervention: Teachers’ beliefs about bodies affect the ways that they teach about body image. Teachers can gain confidence to work with body image through professional development
Schubring et al. (2021), Sweden	Students aged 16–17	Classroom-based lessons that involved the introduction of key concepts, groups discussions of film clips, the development of personal strategies to create positive body image. Four 60 min lessons over four weeks	Body image as a body-self relationship that is affected by factors such as age, disposition, and norms	Focus group transcripts, observation notes, transcripts from post-unit teacher interviews, meeting minutes from group meetings	Intervention: Teaching on body ideals can be meaningful but student engagement varies depending on how students’ background, context, and the didactic design interact with one another
Sundgot-Borgen et al. (2018), Norway	Students in grade 12	Workshops led by researchers on the topics of body image (for example, influences on body perception, body idealization), media literacy (e.g. choice of content, nature of comparing), and lifestyle (e.g. listening to bodily needs, lifestyle products). Three 90 min sessions over three months	Positive body image as body appreciation, embodiment, a focus on body functionality, and an acceptance of imperfection	Pre- and post-data from standardized questionnaires, transcripts from semi-structured interviews, study protocol	Intervention. This is a study protocol. See row below for impact of intervention
Sundgot-Borgen et al. (2019), Norway	Students in grade 12	Same as row above	See row above	Questionnaire data related to demographics, and positive embodiment based on the Experience of Embodiment Scale, and health-related quality of life based on KIDSCREEN-10 (baseline, post-intervention and at 3- and 12-months follow-up)	Intervention. Girls reported a favourable immediate change in positive embodiment, which was maintained at follow up after participating in the intervention. Boys who participated in the intervention reported weak post-intervention effects on embodiment and these effects disappeared in follow-up testing
Walseth et al. (2017), Norway	Students in grade 10		Body image as identity construction and the negotiation of embodied subjectivities	Observation notes, transcripts from informal conversation and group interviews	Traditional PE. Girls’ constructions of their bodies were largely embedded within dominant health and beauty discourses. Some girls were comfortable in their bodies, exercised at fitness centres, and assumed heterosexual femininities. Others reported negative experiences in PE, exercised without enjoyment, and often assumed passive roles in PE
Wiltshire et al. (2017), England	Students aged 13–14		Body image as an aspect of the embodied self, where symbolic and material resources related to the body can be used by individuals to enact relations of power	Focus groups, ethnographic notes and photo-elicitation	Traditional PE. Students play an important role in establishing the physical body as a symbol of power and status. Students also seek to accumulate physical capital through engaging in exercise
Yager et al. (2019), Australia	Students in grade 10	Classroom-based lessons focusing on drug and supplement education, strength training, and sports nutrition. Lessons were facilitated by teachers, who followed a printed script. Five 90 min lessons held over five weeks.	Body image as made up of four variables: body esteem, drive for muscularity, appearance rating, and body satisfaction	Baseline data and post-programme follow-up assessment. Student workbooks, observation notes	Intervention. Analyses suggested that intervention participants experienced improvements for functional and aesthetic body satisfaction, but effect sizes were small and not statistically significant
Öhman et al. (2014), Sweden	Four researchers		Body image as part of the way in which individuals come to know themselves and their lives	Textual material, the content of the game, video recordings of gameplay and researcher notes	Traditional PE. The messages concerning health and bodies communicated by exergames have a number of potentially harmful consequences since they promote normality, promote a measurable view of health, and narrowly define what it means to be human

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Baena-Extremera, A., Granero-Gallegos, A., & Ortiz-Camacho, M. (2012). Quasi-experimental study of the effect of an adventure education programme on classroom satisfaction, physical self-concept and social goals in physical education. Psychologica Belgica, 52(4), 369–386. https://doi.org/10.5334/pb-52-4-369

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