Influence of body dissatisfaction and physical activity on the psychological well-being of young Mexican women

Abstract

The main objective of the present study was to examine the effect of dissatisfaction with body image and the practice of physical activity on the perception of psychological well-being in young Mexican women using a structural equation model.A total of 488 Mexican university students between the ages of 18 and 24 answered the short versions of Ryff's Multidimensional Body Self Relations Questionnaire,International Questionnaire on PhysicalActivity and Psychological Well-being.The results of the structural equations model showed that the practice of physical activity, through the subjective importance of physical shape and appearance, has a positive indirect effect on the perception of psychological well-being in the self-acceptance dimension and this in turn it has a direct positive effect on personal growth.The proposed model obtains a satisfactory fit, explaining 38% of the variance in the perception of psychological well-being in the dimension of personal growth (criterion variable).