Psychological Profile of Obese Patients

Abstract

Nowadays obesity is recognized to be one of the greatest public health problems worldwide. There is no indication that the huge increase in obesity seen the last decades is declining. The examination of psychological aspects of persons with morbid obesity is essential. Identification of the psychological factors associated with weight loss expands our knowledge about behaviors which are crucial in order to avoid failures in treatment. Most information on this is obtained preoperatively. Although there is no single personality type characteristic of the morbidly obese, they differ from the general population as their self-esteem and impulse control is lower. They have passive dependent and passive aggressive personality traits, as well as a trend for somatization and problem denial. Their thinking is usually dichotomous and catastrophic. Obese patients also show low cooperativeness and fail to see the self as autonomous and integrated. In the morbidly obese before undergoing surgical treatment, unusual prevalence of psychopathology, namely depression and anxiety disorders, is observed. They are subject to prejudice and discrimination and should be treated with concern to help alleviate their feelings of rejection and guilt. Information on the psychological profile of obese persons is limited. Future studies are warranted, since there is a pressured need for these people to built cognitive skills and control their body weight.

The biological control of voluntary exercise, spontaneous physical activity and daily energy expenditure in relation to obesity: human and rodent perspectives

“…see references in Stamps and Groothuis (Stamps and Groothuis, 2010)], but, as noted in the previous section, evidence suggests that personality may be an important component of weight gain and obesity (e.g. Booth-Kewley and Vickers, 1994;Lykouras, 2008;Barry et al, 2009;Sutin et al, 2010). Readers should note that the molecular-genetic analysis of behavioral traits, especially with mice, is undergoing rapid technical and conceptual progress (Flint and Mott, 2008).…”

“…However, previous studies (see also Dishman et al, 2008) have shown that human personality is related to healthrelated behaviours (e.g. exercise and maintaining a good diet) (Booth-Kewley and Vickers, 1994), obesity (Lykouras, 2008;Barry et al, 2009), and the metabolic syndrome (Sutin et al, 2010). Donahoo et al (Donahoo et al, 2004) and Johanssen and Ravussin (Johanssen and Ravussin, 2008) speculated that individuals with inherently higher SPA may subconsciously tend to choose jobs that are more physically demanding.…”

The association between obesity and anxiety disorders in the population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] A majority of the reviews identified some links; however, none specifically addressed anxiety disorders. Many of the papers were narrative reviews and differed methodologically from a systematic review.…”

Relationship between adiposity, emotional status and eating behaviour in obese women: role of inflammation

“…For example, the prevalence of depression in obese subjects, which is close to 30 % (Evans et al 2005), is largely higher than that in the general population. Psychological characteristics related to obesity have been investigated in several studies (Charles, 1987 ;Lykouras, 2008). Personality traits including neuroticism, low self-esteem and low impulse control have been identified in obese subjects and were associated with unhealthy food choices (Gibson, 2006) and unsuccessful outcomes or increased complications of obesity medical treatment (Lykouras, 2008 ;Canetti et al 2009).…”