Determine the most powerful predictor of the body image and its association with gender and body mass index in adolescent at school age in Ahvaz, South of Iran

Introduction: The body image focuses on how to understand, think, feel, body and appearance of the body. At the age of school and adolescence, girls and boys experience different situations, so this can affect their mental image. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the most powerful predictor of the body image and its association with gender and body mass index in adolescent at school age in Ahvaz. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic epidemiologic study that examines body image in 458 high school girls and boys and its correlation with body mass index in Ahvaz city in 2018. Sampling was done by random cluster method. The data gathering tool was a demographic questionnaire , anthropometric information check list and self-body multi-dimensional relationship questionnaire to examine the mental image of the body. Data were collected using SPSS software version 17 and descriptive statistical tests and analytical at a significant level of 95%. Results: The results of this study showed that the mean weight and grade point average were significantly higher in female sex. Three dimensions of mental image had a significant correlation with BMI, but overall, the mental image did not have a significant correlation with BMI. It was also the strongest predictor of the student's image, so that there was an inverse and significant relationship between the level of education and the score of mental image. Conclusion: The results indicated. there was no difference in body satisfaction in female and male subjects and BMI, and also there was a significant and inverse relationship between education level and mental image score.