Title: Psychological considerations in childhood obesity Physical Education and Childhood Obesity Seminar A
1 Psychological considerations in childhood
obesityPhysical Education and Childhood Obesity
SeminarAssociation for Physical Education2nd
May 2007Daventry
Professor Ken Fox Exercise, Nutrition and Health
Sciences University of Bristol
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3Diversity among young people
4Childhood obesityPrevention, treatment or both?
- Prevention requires either
- a targeting strategy to identify those at risk of
becoming obese - or a broad sweep strategy that has potential
benefits for all - Treatment assumes an identified population and
special provision
5Centiles for body mass index for British males.
Centile curves are spaced two thirds of z score
apart. (Cole et al. 2000)
6PhilosophyWhere do you stand?
Some All Children Children
A
B
Performance Health
D
C
7What are the overall aims for either obesity
prevention or treatment?
- Facilitate energy balance through physical
activity and healthy eating - Facilitate healthy attitudes towards physical
activity
8Energy balance
Energy intake
Energy expenditure
9Facilitating increased activity
- Organised sport and play at school
- Active informal play inside school
- Organised sport and play outside school
- Active travel
- Active informal play outside school
- Reduced sedentary time
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11- UK
- Sweden
- Germany
- Switzerland
- Denmark
12Mean CSA counts per minute for non-overweight Vs
overweight boys during the week
13Mean CSA counts per minute for non-overweight Vs
overweight boys during the weekend
14Not all obese children are low in activity
15Are children who walk to school more active the
rest of the time?
Cooper et al., American Journal of Preventivc
Medicine, (2003)
16What we need
- More young people involved in sports and active
past-times - More walking and cycling
- More active play at school and out of school
- Reduced time spent sedentary (watching TV etc)
for some children
17The active school will have
- A healthy/active school committee and policy
- A comprehensive activity provision
- A working active transport scheme
- Safe routes to and from home
- Facilities for active play at break and lunch
- Wide range of extra-curricular sports and
exercise opportunities - Extensive intramural programme of activities
- Strong links with community sport and exercise
-
182. Facilitating healthy attitudes to physical
activity
19Of obese 9-10 year olds.
- Acutely aware of being fat
- For most, overfatness has not yet become central
or had a deeply detrimental effect on their
mental well-being - They are beginning to use coping strategies to
deal with the negative aspects of being overfat - They feel they are making changes in their eating
and activity to put things right - These may be intentions only and not translated
into consistent behaviours - They are receiving little assistance from parents
and teachers about how to deal with their
overfatness problem - They see friends as an important element of
support. - Fox K.R Edmunds, L.E., . (2000) Understanding
the world of the fat kid Can schools help
provide a better experience? Reclaiming
Childhood and Youth, 9, 177-181
20LIFELONG PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Long term objective
ACTIVE IDENTITY Can
I do it? Is it worth it?
Perceptions of Attitudes,
beliefs, competence/control
rewards, values
Psychological objectives
Primary objectives
Physical Physical
Health Skills Fitness
Skills
Fox Biddle, BJPE, 1987
21Self-esteem needs
- Competence
- Autonomy and control
- Significance and importance
- Love and regard
- Affiliation
- Multiple meaningful resources
- (Baumeister, 1993 Cloninger, 1999 Deci Ryan,
1995, Epstein, 1973, Rogers, 1951)
22How do children see themselves?Can I do it?
- Young children
- Older children
- Adolescents
23Identity development in 6-9 year olds The
behaviourist stage
- Start to develop perceptions of ability in
different areas - Self-judgements based on what can be seen and
easily assessed - Simple self-perception profiles
- Rely on parents and teachers for information
about self and performance
24Identity development in 6-9 year olds The
behaviourist stage
- Success results from trying hard if I won it
was because I tried hard - Optimistic view of ability
- No real sense of general worth or integrated
identity - Highly motivated by the here and now and to
impress important others such as teachers.
25Identity development in 9-12year olds The
social psychologist stage
- Increasing ability to judge self in many areas of
life multidimensional self - Use social comparison with peers to assess
personal abilities and performance not very
accurate - Development of a differentiated view of success
effort does not always work so there must be
something else ability - Measurable sense of worth and depression is
possible - Generally well motivated but signs of withdrawal
where they believe that their ability does not
work
26The bucket theory
High ability
Limited ability
70 of effort
Full of effort
27Learned helplessnessNo matter how hard I try it
does not seem to make a difference!
- Example Wayne is an overweight 13 year old in
the shuttle run - Scores low even though he tries hard
- Highly public exposure of his poor performance
- Makes him feel that he could never be like the
others - Convinces him that exercise is to be avoided at
all costs - Starts to use defensive strategies
- Absence
- Disruption
- Never show effort
- Attach low importance whats the point in it?
28Am I bovvered?Look at my face!
- Desperation?
- Defensive strategy?
- Maladaptive strategy?
- Outcomes?
29Identity development -13 onwards The
psycho-analysts
- Complex self-perception profiles based on
increasingly accurate self-assessment - More individual constructs develop
- Still use peer comparison throughout teen years
- A well-developed differentiated view of success
a result of ability as a capacity and effort
combined - A measurable sense of worth and vulnerability to
mood swings and depression
30Competence style
- Be mastery and task orientated
- Focus on your own improvement and dont worry
about how good others are - Develop self-determination
- Take responsibility for your achievements. Its
the only way to feel good about yourself. - (Lloyd Fox, 1992 Goudas, Biddle, Underwood
Fox, 1995)
31Helping youngsters stay motivated
- Mastery and task orientation
- Focus children on their own improvement rather
than worrying about how good others are doing - (Lloyd Fox, 1992 Goudas, Biddle, Underwood
Fox, 1995)
32Helping youngsters stay motivated
- Creating an ego environment
- Post scores publicly
- Pointing out who is the best in class
- Using overt competition to motivate
- Encourage kids to compare and look around
- Creating a mastery environment
- Concentrate on effort and trying best
- Focus on completion of tasks
- Discourage comparison with others and look for
personal improvement - Self-determination
- Encourage youngsters to take responsibility for
their achievements. Its the most profound way
to increase true self-esteem (Deci Ryan, 1993) - Safe passage through puberty
- Help them understand the nature of changing
bodies, changing skill levels and that nothing is
fixed - (Lloyd Fox, 1992 Goudas, Biddle, Underwood
Fox, 1995)
33Helping youngsters stay motivated
- Self-determination
- Encourage youngsters to take responsibility for
their achievements. Its the most profound way
to increase true self-esteem (Deci Ryan, 1993) - (Lloyd Fox, 1992 Goudas, Biddle, Underwood
Fox, 1995)
34Helping youngsters stay motivated
- Self-determination
- Avoid the white coat image
- Encourage youngsters to design their own
activities - Encourage youngsters to make their own decisions
- Show children that their efforts have made the
difference - (Lloyd Fox, 1992 Goudas, Biddle, Underwood
Fox, 1995)
35Helping youngsters stay motivated
- Celebrate being special
- Help them to learn to understand and deal with
their individuality, strengths and weaknesses and
be proud of what they have - Learn to like your body
- Help them understand that the body is not the
enemy, that it is part of the whole person and
responds to friendly treatment - Safe passage through puberty
- Help them understand the nature of changing
bodies, changing skill levels and that nothing is
fixed
36Sport and exercise identity
Physical self-perceptions discriminate 75 of
late adolescents into active or inactive and
are closely associated with type of activity in
those who are active
37ACTIVE LIFESTYLES
Long term objective
ACTIVE IDENTITY Can
I do it? Is it worth it?
Perceptions of Attitudes,
beliefs, competence/control
rewards, values
Psychological objectives
AGE /STAGE APPROPRIATE POLICIES
Primary objectives
Physical Physical
Health Skills Fitness
Skills
Fox Biddle, BJPE, 1987
38Attitude development
- Young children
- Can conceptualise immediate see-able constructs
such as food, running, jumping but not
abstractions such as health or diet - Attitudes and beliefs drawn from significant
adults parents and teachers - Modelling of adult attitudes and behaviours
39- Children
- Is eating apples fun?
- Is running around the gym fun?
- Does eating well please my parents?
- Does scoring a goal make me feel good?
- Will sport help me get on with my friends?
40Attitude development
- Older children
- Conceptualise longer term outcomes such as
getting fitter, losing weight and can start to
direct behaviour but not very successful - Attitudes and beliefs drawn increasingly from
peers and generally norms for age set by the
media through magazines and television
41Attitude development
- Adolescents
- Can conceptualise longer term outcomes and alter
their behaviour to receive deferred
gratification such as working for exams,
practicing musical instruments - Attitudes and beliefs are drawn increasingly from
groups to which they wish to belong. - Will select friends who have similar attitudes to
confirm their own so similar friendship groups
grow.
42I dont exercise or play sport because.
- it is too exhausting and painful
- I am useless
- it will make me look muscly
- it will make me want to eat more
- I do not have the time
- I am not the sporty type
- I always get left behind
- I am too embarrassed
- whats the point?
43I exercise/play sport because.
- my mates play
- I want to be a great player
- other kids tell me I am a good player
- my body feels better
- its a great crowd to be with
- its a lot of fun
- the coach is great
- It puts me in a better mood
44LIFELONG PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Long term objective
ACTIVE IDENTITY Can
I do it? Is it worth it?
Perceptions of Attitudes,
beliefs, competence/control
rewards, values
Psychological objectives
Primary objectives
Physical Physical
Health Skills Fitness
Skills
Fox Biddle, BJPE, 1987
45An active school will have
- A sport and PE programme that
- Promotes confidence and perceived competence in
all kids - Encourages personal mastery and improvement
- Offers a wide range of sport and exercise
opportunities that are enjoyable - Physically educates youngsters about their bodies
and the expertise to maintain lifetime activity - Identifies youngsters with poor activity and
health profiles and provides remedial action
46Thanks for listening ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Research
colleagues Ashley Cooper Angie Page Mark
Davis Russ Jago
Contact Professor Ken Fox Department of Exercise
Nutrition and Health Sciences University of
Bristol www.bris.ac.uk/ehs K.R.Fox_at_bristol.ac.uk
47Multichoice Quiz
- Which would you choose?
- When a child makes fun of a fat youngster in gym,
the teacher should - Make the youngster apologise in front of the
class and say why it is wrong. - Take the offending youngster to one side after
class and explain the effect the comment had - Ignore the event and explain to the fat youngster
after class why you let it go. - Your suggestion?
- __________________________________________________
___________ - You want to get across the importance of avoiding
obesity in a health class - Provide lots of information about the diseases
associated with obesity - Use skinfold calipers to measure each youngsters
fatness during a class session - Talk about what constitutes healthy eating and
activity in avoiding weight gain. - Your suggestion?
- __________________________________________________
_________ - You are trying to motivate children to be more
active outside class - Run the class through a series of fitness tests
to show them where they are poor - Suggest in the class that all the fatter children
should come to special after school sessions
48- You want to encourage healthy eating habits
- You take away all high calorie foods in the
tuckshop and canteen - You offer healthier options alongside the usual
high calories foods and drinks - You provide eating advice in class to help
youngsters diet. - Your suggestion? ________________________________
_____________________________ - You want to seriously help fat children at school
to lose weight - You offer a special programme each morning just
for fat children that includes activity and
eating advice - You adopt a whole school policy which is passed
to teachers and children about how to treat
children who are fat. - You bring parents into school and teach them how
to deal with the causes of obesity in the home. - Your suggestion? ________________________________
_____________________________