@2024 Afarand., IRAN

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ISSN: 2008-2630    Iranian Journal of War & Public Health 2020;12(2):133-139

Background
…[1]. The health and well-being of people are endangered by various factors. In this regard, war is one of the most well-known factors that cause death and long-term physical and psychological complications in veterans and non-veteran citizens more than anything else [2].
Previous Studies
Physical and mental disorders caused by war stresses are abundant in veterans, and it has adverse effects on various aspects of a person's life in addition to causing anxiety [3]. One of the less-studied psychological variables is the term "body image". ...[4, 5]. Given that body image is an important part of a person's identity and the first source of information for social interactions, it is important to have a favorable body image [6]. ...[7]. Continued dissatisfaction with the body image leads to a decrease in self-esteem [8, 9]. …[10-13]. Self-esteem is affected by physical activity and is associated with self-esteem. ...[14-16]. The results of many studies show that the higher the level of physical fitness and physical activity, the more positive the attitude of persons towards their abilities and the higher one's self-confidence [17, 18]. ...[19-21].
Aim(s)
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity, body image concern, self-esteem, and body appreciation.
Research type
This is a descriptive-field study.
Research society, place and time
This research was carried out between male veterans in Yazd city in 2019-2020.
Sampling method and number
The statistical sample of the study consisted of 100 veterans who did not have any acute problems in terms of physical condition. The number of samples was calculated using G * Power 3 software, taking into account the effect size of 0.3, type 1 error of 0.05, and the statistical power of 0.93. Inclusion criteria included non-use of psychiatric drugs, lack of intellectual disability, lack of physical disability, and exclusion criteria was unwillingness to cooperate in this research.
Used devices&materials
The research tools included the following:Personal characteristic questionnaire: This questionnaire was researcher-made and was provided to the subjects to collect general information, which included name, age, percentage of disability, level of education, history of referral to a psychiatrist, history of illness, physical problems, and so on. Body Image Concern Inventory (BICI) questionnaire: The questionnaire consists of 19 items designed by Littleton et al. [22] in 2005. The questionnaire reliability was estimated at 93% by Cronbach's alpha method, and the correlation of the total material is 32-73%, which indicates the correct structure of the questionnaire. The questionnaire validity coefficient has been reported by 83% using investigating the correlation with the self-report scale of the disorder. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire have been reported at 73 and 87% levels, respectively by Basaknejad & Ghaffari in Iran [23]. Self-esteem questionnaire: The Rosenberg 10-items of self-esteem scale was used to assess self-esteem. This well-known and standard scale was developed by Rosenberg in 1987. This questionnaire is rated on a 4-point Likert scale from 0 to 3 (strongly agree to disagree). The scale has 5 positive items and 5 negative items that the sum of positive and inverse negative scores determine a person's self-esteem. The validity of this questionnaire in Iranian culture has been confirmed by various studies. Its reliability has been reported 82-88% in different studies by the retest method and 77-88% by the alpha method [24, 25]. Body Appreciation Scale (BAS): The scale was developed by Avalos et al. in 2005 to measure positive body image. The questionnaire consists of 13 questions, and each question contains 5 options (never, rarely, sometimes, often, and always). The minimum and maximum scores are 13 and 65, respectively. In a study by Swami et al., Cronbach's alpha scores were 0.90 and 0.85 for women and men, respectively, which showed BAS as a suitable scale for measuring body appreciation, and Yousefi et al. Have reported the valuable validity and reliability of the questionnaire [26]. Sharkey Physical Activity Questionnaire: This questionnaire is used for investigating the level of physical activity and includes 5 items based on the Likert scale. The minimum and maximum scores for each question were 1 and 5, respectively. The total score of the questions is calculated to calculate the total score of the questionnaire. The score of this questionnaire has a range of 5-25 [27]. Golmohammadi et al. confirmed the questionnaire validity and obtained the questionnaire reliability at 0.78 level using Cronbach's alpha method [28]. First, the necessary coordination was conducted with the Martyr Foundation and Veterans and Trainers Affairs of Yazd city. Before filling out the questionnaires, preliminary explanations of aims and research variables were presented to the subjects, and they were asked to avoid consulting with each other and reflect their feeling to prevent any bias in the study. The Pearson correlation coefficient was used to investigate the relationship between the variables. Multivariate regression analysis with simultaneous entry method was used to determine the prediction of physical activity variable. Data were analyzed using SPSS 23 software.
Findings by Text
The mean scores of self-esteem variables were 8.06±2.03, body image concern was 36.50±14.70, physical appreciation was 48.46±12.65 and physical activity was 20.70±4.35. There was a significant positive relationship between self-esteem and physical activity of veterans and between the variables of physical appreciation and physical activity. There is also a significant negative relationship between body image concern and veteran physical activity (Table 1). The determination coefficient for the predictive variables was R2=0.333. This means that the total of predictive variables predicted 33.3% of the variance of physical activity, and F resulting from the entry of these variables (7.66) was significant at the level of 0.01. Therefore, the regression coefficients and the significant level of the predictive variables were presented in Table 2. Of the 3 predictive variables, only the physical appreciation variable was able to predict the physical activity variable. Therefore, the physical appreciation of veterans predicted their physical activity, positively.
Main comparison to the similar studies
...[29-32]. The findings of this study showed that physical activity was inversely related to body image concerns; this means that with increased physical activity, body image concerns decreases. These results are in accordance with the findings of Hosseini Sarbazi et al. [33], which showed physical activity (resistance training) improves the attitude towards body image of thin women. Also, the result is in accordance with the findings of Wohang et al. [34] showed the positive effect of physical activity on adolescents' body image. The results indicate a significant relationship between physical activity and the self-esteem of veterans and this means the more physical activity, the more self-esteem of veterans. This finding is consistent with the results of Garaz & Feltz [19] but contradicts the research of Asadi et al. [20] and Quds Mirheydari et al. [21]. There was a significant relationship between physical activity and physical appreciation. Indeed physical activity has a positive effect on the physical appreciation. In addition, the results showed that among the three predictive variables, only physical appreciation can predict the physical activity variable. Physical activity and physical appreciation have been studied in a small number of studies; however, this finding is consistent with the results of Tabiee et al. [35], who showed a significant relationship between physical activity and the physical self-concept of male students. In addition, the findings are in line with the Asci results [36], which reported higher physical self-concept of female students, as well as Baghaiyan et al. [37], who reported higher physical self-concept of adolescent students. ...[38].
Suggestions
It is suggested to carry out the research on the different areas and different statistical population. Also, due to the low research history in this field among the veterans of the country, it is suggested to investigating the other psychological factors related to the physical activity of veterans in addition to controlling the limitations in this field. Considering the importance of physical activity as a factor affecting psychological variables and based on the results of the present study, it is suggested to providing appropriate plans for active participation of veterans in physical activities in order to promote self-esteem and physical appreciation and reduce the variable of body image concerns by policymakers of veterans' sports.
Limitations
In this study, intervention factors such as motivational factors of respondents, contextual and cultural factors, and implementation of the research in a city and on the number of samples, have affected the outcome of the research. There are also limitations such as sampling limitation (available sampling) and non-generalizability of the findings to ethnic groups and other regions of the country.
Conclusions
There is a relationship between physical activity and self-esteem, physical appreciation, and body image concern and the variable of physical appreciation can predict physical activity.
Acknowledgments
We appreciate the veterans and the officials of the Martyr foundation to help us in this research.
Conflict of interest
There is no interest of conflict.
Ethical Permissions
The research plan has been approved ethically by the Research Commission of Farhangian University after initial evaluations and providing the proposal.
Funding Sources
This study did not receive financial support from any institution or organization.

TABLES and CHARTS

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