OBJECTIVES: To check the prevalence of body dissatisfaction in college students of different majors, as well as the relationship with gender and nutritional status. METHODS: The sample was composed of college students from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF) of several different majors. The Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) and the Silhouette Scale for Adults assessed body dissatisfaction. Self-referred body mass and height were used to calculate the body mass index (BMI). For the statistical analysis, association, comparison, and logistic regression tests were performed. RESULTS: Among the 535 students, with average age of 20.82 ± 3.03 years old, 245 were male. The BSQ average score was 68.00 ± 28.74, being 88.9% of the subjects free from dissatisfaction. Nevertheless, according to the silhouette scale, 76.6% were found to be dissatisfied. The students of Life Sciences and Humanities were, insignificantly, more dissatisfied than the Exact Sciences students. Women, when compared to men (p < 0.05) and those overweight/obese (OR: 3.174; p = 0.000) had the highest score in the body dissatisfaction rating. CONCLUSION: Most young people were found to be free from body dissatisfaction, and no correlation to their area of studies was found. However, the college girls with the highest BMIs were found to be the most dissatisfied with their body image.
Body image; college students; nutritional status; logistic regression
