Yonsei Med J.  2004 Feb;45(1):61-67. 10.3349/ymj.2004.45.1.61.

Effects of Behavior Modification on Body Image, Depression and Body Fat in Obese Korean Elementary School Children

• Moon YI
• Park HR
• Koo HY
• Kim HS

• KMID: 1734094
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2004.45.1.61

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the effects of behavior modification on body image, depression and body fat in obese elementary school children. Sixty-two elementary students of the 4th to 6th grade were selected from two different Seoul schools. Thirty-four children in one school were designated as the experimental group, and 28 children from the other school as the control group. The experimental group received 60 - 70 minutes of behavior modification, once a week, for 8 weeks. The control group received neither management nor treatment. The results indicated a significant improvement of body image and a reduction in the increase rate of body fat for the experimental group. This finding strongly supports the theory that behavior modification can be used as an effective strategy in the treatment of obese children.

Keyword

Childhood obesity; behavior modification; body image; depression; body fat

MeSH Terms

Adipose Tissue
*Behavior Therapy
Body Composition
*Body Image
Child
Depression/*therapy
Female
Human
Korea
Male
Obesity/*psychology/*therapy
Treatment Outcome