The relationship between body mass index and self-concept among adolescent black female university students

Abstract

The study investigated the relationship between body mass index and self-concept among adolescent black female university students. The study used a mixed research design (quantitative and qualitative methods). Media images of handsome faces and beautiful bodies are used to sell almost everything, from clothes and cosmetic to luncheon, meats, and so on. These images reinforce the western cultural stereotype that women should be thin and shapely to be attractive. Thus, as some girls go through puberty they may become dissatisfied with their weight, and to a lesser extent, with their shape, thus, developing low self-concept or imae of themselves. It is in this context that the study was conceptualised.