The body image and eating habits of young girls in a rural Ontarian elementary school using the Comprehensive School Health program

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the body image, eating habits, and health perceptions of girls in a rural Ontarian elementary school using the Comprehensive School Health program. A case-study design was used for this project. Two interviews were conducted with the principal and with the 6th grade teacher. In addition, two focus groups were held with the girls of the 6th grade. The focus groups consisted of group discussions with the girls, the administration of the Collins Body Figures Scale (Collins, 1991), as well as a shortened version of the Children's Eating Attitude Test-26 questionnaire (ChEAT-26) (Maloney, McGuire, & Daniels, 1988). The results showed that there were very few health education initiatives related to body image and nutrition for the grade 6 class of the school, and suggested that the girls had healthy eating habits and low levels of body dissatisfaction.