Body Appreciation Changes Among Adolescent Female Flag Football Athletes And Non-athletes: A Prospective Investigation

PURPOSE: To determine how body appreciation changes over time and is correlated with moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) among female adolescent flag football players compared to non-athlete participants. METHODS: In this prospective cohort study, both the athletes and non-athletes completed the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) at two timepoints, before and after a flag football season. Participant MVPA was tracked throughout the season via weekly surveys. We used a linear mixed model to assess the relationship between BAS scores with group (flag football vs. non-athlete) and time (pre/post season). We used multiple linear regression to analyze the relationship between MVPA, BAS and time. RESULTS: We enrolled, assessed, and followed 82 athletes and 15 controls. Most returned and completed their follow-up visit (71/82 or 87% flag football, 14/15 or 93% non-athletes). There were no significant differences in demographics, mental health history, or past medical history. The group reported significantly more MVPA/week during the season than the control group (6.3 ± 4.7 hours vs. 1.5 ± 2.2 hours/week; p < 0.001). For BAS scores, there were no significant effects of group (coefficient = 0.10, 95% CI = -0.42, 0.62; p = 0.70); time (coefficient = 0.25, 95% CI = -0.14, 0.64; p = 0.21); or interactions between group and time (coefficient = -0.04, 95% CI = -0.61, 0.52; p = 0.88). There was no significant association between BAS changes over time and MVPA during the season (β = -0.02, 95% CI = -0.04, 0.01, p = 0.23) or group (β = -0.09, 95% CI = -0.43, 0.26, p = 0.62). CONCLUSIONS: While past studies have focused on male football participants, evidence on female participants in football or flag football is lacking. Our findings suggest that body appreciation of female adolescent athletes is not significantly impacted by participation in flag football or MVPA over a season compared to non-athletes. Although prior research has suggested non-athletes have lower body appreciation than athletes, our findings did not confirm this notion. It is possible body appreciation related to flag football may change with a longer duration of participation in the sport or as the sociocultural status of the sport and its inclusion of females and women evolves over time.