Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
Athletic trainers--Iowa--Waterloo--Attitudes; Athletic trainers--Iowa--Cedar Falls--Attitudes; Iowa--Cedar Falls; Iowa--Waterloo; Academic theses;
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the researcher's results to published norms. This study investigated appearance, fitness, health, illness, and body satisfaction levels plus overweight preoccupation of female fitness instructors in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, IA. The respondents for the study were 41 female group fitness instructors. They responded to the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (Godin & Shephard, 1985) to determine leisure-time activity levels, the Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire (MBSRQ; Cash, 2000) to determine appearance levels, fitness levels, health levels, illness levels, body satisfaction levels, and overweight preoccupation, and a self-developed questionnaire to acquire demographic data. The study was conducted over a period of three months between September and November 2002. Data collected were analyzed by hand with the use of Microsoft Excel to report the percentages, means, standard deviations, and t-values. This study involved collecting and comparing data from several subscales. The majority of female fitness instructors felt mostly positive and satisfied with their physical appearance. They also placed high importance on appearance and spend time in grooming behaviors. As expected, the majority of respondents valued fitness and viewed themselves as physically fit and engaged in activities to enhance or maintain that fitness. As a result of engaging in fitness activities, over half of the respondents felt physically healthy and were invested in leading a healthy lifestyle. One area that is a cause for concern was the subscale concerning illness orientation. When the results were compared to the Cash (2000) study, over half of the respondents in the current study were not very observant to the signs and symptoms of illness, and thus were less likely to seek medical attention than the respondents from the national survey. This result is surprising considering that fitness instructors are taught to encourage participants in their classes to seek medical attention when they observe signs and symptoms of illness so one would think they would want to do the same for themselves. Based on the results, it is recommended that the supervisors of fitness instructors be concerned and watch for signs and symptoms of poor body image, disordered eating, and/or excessive exercise. If signs and symptoms of poor body image, disordered eating, and/or excessive exercise are exhibited by fitness instructors, it is recommended that the supervisors refer these fitness instructors to appropriate sources where they can receive help and limit the number of fitness classes taught by these instructors and/or completely remove these instructors from their fitness class schedule until help is received.
Year of Submission
2007
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
School of Health, Physical Education, and Leisure Services
First Advisor
Thomas M. Davis
Second Advisor
Larry Hensley
Third Advisor
Dennis Cryer
Date Original
2007
Object Description
1 PDF file (80 leaves)
Copyright
©2007 Catherine M. Zubrod
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Zubrod, Catherine M., "An Evaluation of Appearance, Fitness, Health, Illness, and Body Satisfaction Levels Plus Overweight Preoccupation of Female Fitness Instructors in Cedar Falls and Waterloo, IA" (2007). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 1872.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/1872
Comments
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