Psychological consequences of obesity: Weight bias and body image in overweight and obese youth

Abstract

Over the past several decades, the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children has increased considerably. While it has been widely documented that childhood obesity is related to a variety of negative health consequences, and numerous campaigns have focused on increasing physical activity and healthy food choices in children, less research has focused on the negative psychological consequences of childhood obesity, namely body image disturbance. This article examines research on body image disturbance in overweight/obese children, comorbidity of psychological disorders and childhood overweight/obesity, and factors that contribute to body image disturbance in overweight and obese youths. Additionally, the authors present research pertaining to treatment and prevention of body image disturbance in overweight/obese youths and discuss potential future directions for research, prevention and advocacy.

Imagen Corporal Y Autoestima en Niños Según Su Estado Nutricional Y Frecuencia De Actividad Física

“…Al realizar un análisis de regresión lineal, demostró que los sujetos con sobrepeso y obesidad, estuvieron más expuestos al bullying y la relación entre el estado del peso y la exposición a la intimidación pudiera estar mediada por la imagen corporal (19 Además, son menos las investigaciones que se han centrado en los aspectos sicológicos negativos de la obesidad infantil asociadas a las perturbaciones de la imagen corporal (20). Al comparar el estado nutricional y la autoestima no se detectaron diferencias estadísticas (p> 0,05), distinto a lo encontrado en adolescentes obesos, los cuales alcanzaron menores niveles de ésta variable y con tasas significativamente más altas de depresión y ansiedad (21). Niños coreanos obesos, obtuvieron menores niveles de autoestima que los sujetos con peso normal, y la obesidad infantil puede estar relacionada con insatisfacción corporal, lo que lleva a una baja autoestima y altos niveles de síntomas depresivos (22).…”

Worry or craving? A selective review of evidence for food-related attention biases in obese individuals, eating-disorder patients, restrained eaters and healthy samples

“…This review highlights the need to distinguish not only between different (temporal) attention bias components, but also to take different motivations (craving v. worry) and their impact on attentional processing into account. Overall, the current state of research suggests that biased attention could be one important cognitive mechanism by which the food environment tempts us into overeating.Attention bias: Obesity: Craving: Restrained eating: Eating disorder Surrounded by an 'obesogenic' food environment?Obesity and overweight constitute a serious risk for psychological and physical wellbeing (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) . The WHO estimates that 2·8 million people die each year due to the adverse consequences of overweight and obesity (7,8) .…”

“…Obesity and overweight constitute a serious risk for psychological and physical wellbeing (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) . The WHO estimates that 2·8 million people die each year due to the adverse consequences of overweight and obesity (7,8) .…”

Vital Links Between Obesity and Psychopathology: The Impact of Stigma

“…Similarly, and more recently, research has reported weight discrimination among children as early as 3 years of age 26 and body dissatisfaction in children as young as 6 years old. 27 In the instance of successful weight loss, it should be noted that the enduring effects on well-being, the likely self-stigmatisation due to internalisation of weight stigma, previous stigmatising experiences, and associated psychopathology can remain and are likely to continue to have an impact on an individual. For example, Levy and Pilver 28 found that formerly overweight adult men and women continued to be at risk of any anxiety disorder, any depressive disorder, and suicide attempts even after weight loss.…”