1.2. Physical self-concept and physical exercise
For decades, researchers have tried to relate self-esteem to a healthy lifestyle in adolescence. The line of
research carried out in this regard argues that young people with low self-esteem perform particular behaviors
which jeopardize their health. However, those with high self-esteem perform healthier behaviors. But despite the
sheer variety of work in this area, the results obtained are confusing and inconclusive, thus implying that selfesteem
may not be a valid predictor in the study of health behaviors. For this reason, nowadays there are many
authors who suggest that the dimensions of self-concept are useful for this purpose (Pastor, Balaguer and GarciaMerita,
2006).