TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 28 October 2022 DOI 10.3389/fspor.2022.985476 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Achraf Ammar, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany REVIEWED BY Luca Puce, University of Genoa, Italy Hamdi Chtourou, University of Sfax, Tunisia *CORRESPONDENCE Mezna A. AlMarzooqi malmarzooqi@ksu.edu.sa SPECIALTY SECTION This article was submitted to Exercise Physiology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Sports and Active Living RECEIVED 03 July 2022 ACCEPTED 29 September 2022 PUBLISHED 28 October 2022 CITATION AlMarzooqi MA (2022) Association between body image perception with demographic characteristics of physically active individuals during COVID-19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia. Front. Sports Act. Living 4:985476. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2022.985476 COPYRIGHT © 2022 AlMarzooqi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Association between body image perception with demographic characteristics of physically active individuals during COVID-19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia Mezna A. AlMarzooqi* Department of Community Health Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Objective: This study aimed to determine the relationship between body image perception and demographic factors among physically active (men and women) during the COVID-19 lockdown in Saudi Arabia. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was employed among physically active individuals in Saudi Arabia between June and July 2020. Eligible participants completed a 19-item self-administered questionnaire that covered three areas: demographic questions, reasons for physical activity, and role or perceptions of body image during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. Results: A total of 323 physically active individuals participated in this study. The majority of the participants were female (N=217, 72.7%), were married (66.6%), and living in the Middle region of Saudi Arabia (N= 268, 83%). The analysis shows that majority of the participants were dissatisfied with their current body shape. The analysis also showed a significant association between participants’ educational attainment and BMI and body dissatisfaction (p= 0.001). The strongest predictor was BMI level, recording an odds ratio (OR) of 5.99 (CI: 2.15 – 10.54, p=0.001) in obese and an OR of 4.55 (CI: 1.31 – 9.35, p=0.001) in overweight, indicating that compared with normal weight, obese and overweight participants were more likely to be dissatisfied by five and four times, respectively. Conclusion: This study indicates that physically active individuals are greatly influenced by the confinement period. Programs that promote physical activity in their house or during lockdown may help to encourage, lessen their anxiety, and maintain their health. This may also decrease the anxiety of individuals, particularly those active ones. KEYWORDS body image, body image dissatisfaction, COVID-19, physically active, Saudi Arabia Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 01 frontiersin.org