¶ … overweight or obese simply means simply "carrying excess body fat," measured by a height to weight ratio known as a body mass index, or BMI ("Obesity and Overweight in Adults"). In addition to the physical health consequences of being overweight or obese, including lethargy, high blood pressure, and diabetes, there are known mental health concerns including depression, social anxiety, and low self-esteem. Research has consistently shown that being overweight or obese is "strongly correlated with low self-esteem," (Eddy 1). Low self-esteem can be considered as a cluster of cognitive and emotional variables ranging from perceived self-efficacy to more existential concerns such as "one's capacity to feel worthy of happiness," (Eddy 1). Given there are different types of self-esteem, it may be difficult to absolutely measure the relationship between overweight and self-esteem. Moreover, there will be certain cultural, individual, and contextual variables impacting self-perception regarding body image and body weight. In cultures that value thinness as a body ideal, low self-esteem is a more likely consequence of being overweight or obese. However, individual differences and culture have a much stronger bearing on overall self-esteem than body weight itself.
Age has a bearing on the relationship between self-esteem and body weight. Among younger children, self-esteem is less impacted by body weight than it is among adolescents, when physical appearance becomes a more salient criteria for belonging to social groups or construction of personal identity (Phillips and Hill). Pre-adolescent teens are aware of the way physical appearance impacts their self-image and perception by others, but global self-esteem may remain intact (Phillips and Hill). Moreover, Phillips and Hill found that among pre-adolescents, it was still possible to remain socially "popular" when overweight or obese (287). Given that age has a bearing on self-esteem in relation to body weight, it remains possible that older children and adults can retain a strong sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy regardless of body mass.
Moreover, the degree to which a person's body type deviates from the "thinness ideal" may have a bearing on self-esteem. Israel and Ivanova found that particularly for girls, being "highly overweight" versus "moderately overweight" has a bearing on self-esteem, with heavily...
Abstract for Gause, Simpson & Biggs (2009): "Within the United States, schools offer many opportunities for developing obesity-prevention strategies" (Paxson, Donahue, Orleans, & Grisso, 2006, pg. 9). Many programs are offered in the schools, but most are single faceted programs targeting obesity through reformed nutritional programs or increasing physical activity within the schools. Minimal program offerings and research are available that have a multi-faceted approach to addressing the self-esteem of children
Relationship Among Self-Esteem, Stress, Coping, Eating Behavior, and Depressive Mood in Adolescents What is the research problem? Is the problem statement easy to locate and is it clearly stated? Does the problem statement build a cogent and persuasive argument for the new study? The research problem explores the relationship between coping strategies, emotional problems and the tendency to overeat in adolescence. The problem statement is easy to identify and is contained
Childhood Obesity and Its Affects on Self-Esteem, Learning and Development Childhood obesity has reached alarming proportions in developed nations of the world and its prevalence is continuously rising from 1971. In the Scandinavian countries, childhood obesity is less than compared to the Mediterranean countries; yet, the amount of obese children is increasing in both cases. Even though the highest rates of childhood obesity have been seen in developed countries, and at
Deliberate self-harm (DSH) or self-injurious behavior (SIB) involves intentional self-poisoning or injury, irrespective of the apparent purpose of the act. (Vela, Harris and Wright, 1983) Self-mutilation is also used interchangeably with self-mutilation, though self-mutilation is one aspect of DSH. Approximately 1% of the United States population uses physical self-injury as a way of dealing with overwhelming feelings or situations, often using it to speak when no words will come. There
" (p.15) but his father cannot stop criticizing his son, even the way Tommy eats and looks at the breakfast table. Just like the camera was critical of Tommy, so is the unsparing gaze of his father. His father continues to call him by his old name, Wilky, which Tommy has rejected. Tommy, once attractive enough to solicit the attention of a Hollywood scout, has become overweight and lethargic, and
Providing a strong cultural and personal role model may be more important than attempting to socially engineer the messages teens and all citizens receive. The lesser susceptibility of certain ethnic groups to media pressures to live up to an ideal of thinness or physical perfection highlights the complex interplay between cultural, social, and psychological factors that produce self-esteem and what might be called body image. The interplay of these
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