Aim of the study:
Many individuals, especially youth, are concerned about their body image and devote much time to thinking about changes to their appearance. Most studies on the effect of educational programs on body image have focused on treatment of negative body image. Few studies have evaluated the effect of educational programs on prevention of negative body image and its improvement in the general population. The current study examined the effect of a self-efficacy theory-based educational program on body image concern and self-esteem among female high school students in Shiraz.

Subject or material and methods:
In this quasi-experimental study, 150 students (72 in the intervention and 78 in the control group) were selected from high schools in Shiraz using cluster sampling. The intervention group took part in six 45-minute educational sessions. The educational content was determined using the 8-step Cash model proportional to Iranian culture. The study data was collected using Littleton’s body image concern and Rosenberg’s self-esteem questionnaires. It was then analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and the Friedman test.

Results:
The results showed no significant difference between the intervention and control groups regarding parental occupations, parental educational levels, age, body image concern and self-esteem at baseline. The mean score for body image concern decreased in both groups during the study period, but the decrease was more significant in the intervention group. The mean score of self-esteem also significantly increased in the intervention group during the study period (p<0.0001.

Discussion:
This study showed that body image education could reduce body image concerns and increase self-esteem

Conclusions:
.