This study describes the levels and inter-correlations of physical self-esteem, physical activity, body mass index (BMI), and body fat and, in addition, distinctive of individuals with high vs. low physical self-worth in a longitudinal design during adolescence.

METHODS:

At mean ages 12.7, 15.7, and 17.7 years, physical activity (steps/day) was measured for four consecutive schooldays of 77 (41 girls) Swedish adolescents. Perceived physical self-esteem, height, weight, and at ages 15.7 and 17.7 years, body fat percent was also measured.

RESULTS:

Boys' physical self-perception scores were higher than girls' and an overall stability during adolescents was seen. High and low physical self-worth had a significant impact regarding BMI at ages 12.7 and 17.7 years and regarding body fat at age 17.7 years in both boys and girls.

CONCLUSIONS:

Regression analysis indicated that BMI and body fat counter-predicted self-worth in girls age-dependently. Efforts to build adapted physical activity programs for overweight and obese are emphasized.

This paper examines combinatorial problems in connection with single-peaked preference orderings on a unidimensional scale. A binary relation, dominance, is defined on the set of connected orderings. Relevant properties of the corresponding poset and cover graph are discussed. A formula for the number of pairs of connected orderings consistent with spatial single-peakedness is derived. The total number of such pairs is shown to be expressible in a simple form involving binomial probabilities. A possible application is a coalition formation process of the kind examined by Brams et al. (J Theor Polit 14:359–383, 2002), where actors have single-peaked preferences on a common scale.