Investigating the effectiveness of regular sports activities on improving body image and reducing overeating behaviors in overweight students

The research was conducted with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of regular sports activities on improving body image and reducing overeating behaviors in overweight students. The research method was semi-experimental and the research design was pre-test-post-test with a control group. The statistical population included all 9th grade female students studying in Bandar Anzali schools in the academic year of 2022-2023, 308 of which 30 were selected by purposive sampling. To collect the required data, the questionnaires of the person's attitude about body image by Kash & et al (1986) and Gormali & et al (1982) overeating behaviors were used. The experimental group was exposed to Fakhraei-Aghadam et al. (2016) sports activity protocol training for 12 sessions. Statistical methods of covariance analysis were used to analyze the data. The results showed that training in sports activities improved body image and reduced overeating behaviors in overweight students (P<0.001). According to the findings of the research, it can be concluded that using the content and instructions of sports activities will be useful in improving the body image and reducing the overeating behaviors of overweight students