Obesity is the most prevalent, preventable medical condition in america and the globe. Over weight has been called the key public problem in the United States and it has been with us for years and years. The consequences of excess weight are sophisticated and farther getting than many people know about. The effects of obesity are not only limited to the appearance but also, your brain of the person. There are various factors that lead to over weight however, in this paper; we can look at the mental health factors that cause over weight and the psychological consequences induced by weight problems.
Psychological factors that cause obesity
One school of thought holds that excess weight comes from certain sorts of life-style and from the long-term use of food for non-nutritive purposes. A lot of people may react to arousal expresses such as boredom, anxiousness, or anger by consuming. However, this whole food intake is not only attributable to emotional arousal but much overeating may simply derive from the repeated subjection of individuals to highly palatable and easy to get at food in surrounding environment. A standard response to mental arousal state governments such as anger, fear or nervousness is loss of appetite. However, for some individual's emotional arousal and stress lead to an excessive intake of food. According to the psychosomatic theory this so called "emotional eating" is found in those who eat in response to mental states rather than in respond to inside cues of hunger or satiety. Individuals experiencing psychological stress will probably use food so that they can recapture the security and comfort. Many psychological eaters learned to make use of overeating as a way of coping with their subconscious problems (Truck Strien, 1986).
Many times unhappiness and arousal of the person could lead to overeating. Research has shown that continual overeating is due to the unresolved mental problems and it provides as a substitute for other satisfactions. A person could become a sufferer of public and unconscious makes which compel him/her to persist in a recurring self-destructive routine of overeating. Individuals use overeating as an effort to achieve gratification and security themselves against stress, resulting from psychological conflicts. Clinical case studies reported that mental health and social troubles such as sociable anxiety, low do it yourself worthy of, mistrust, behavioral immaturity and hypochondria business lead to overweight. Increased panic and arousal which originates from stress may increase specific consumption by causing him more responsive to salient environmental stimuli (Wolman, 1982).
Psychodynamic theory differentiates between "developmental" and "reactive" types of weight problems. "Developmental" obesity is the effect of a primary feeling of rejection for the mother towards her child and could start as early as infancy. Matching to Bruch (1961) the child that has been neglected is filled with food by his mom, which causes dilemma of the child's biological cues. When the child grows older, he will be unable to recognize whether he's famished or satiated and could overeat in response to any arousal condition. As a result, when he reaches an adult stage he may have problems with a deficit in cravings for food awareness. "Reactive overweight" occurs mostly in adults in response to traumatic environmental circumstances. It is seen in following developing situations such a s severe mental impact, the fatality of beloved, separation from the home, or other happenings involving concern with desertion and loneliness (Van Strein, 1986).
Individuals show noticeably different eating replies to controllable or uncontrollable stress and anxiety states. Research shows that uncontrollable stress improves eating in individuals, while controllable panic does not. Among the experiments was conducted to gauge the effect on feelings and eating from life's stress. Forty obese and normal weight female college undergraduates were examined during and final examinations. Each university student was scheduled for two sessions immediately after lunch. Program 1 was planned during the final examination no more than five hours prior to the exam. Program 2 was scheduled three weeks after the student's last evaluation. Students completed questionnaires with scales that focused on the student's current feeling condition and the occurrence of nervousness, sense of control and low self-esteem. Also, the index of eating and weight background questionnaire was from each participant. It's been expected that during final examinations, students would feel significantly more anxious and less in control of their feelings than they might feel after examinations. As forecasted, obese students ate a lot more during examinations than after, while normal's confirmed only a non significant decrease in eating during examinations. Also, results exhibited that only during examinations while being under high stress do obese eat more than their normal weight peers (Slochower, 1983).
In addition, there are other factors that play a very important part in the eating action, such as cognition and thoughts. Our environment is rich in stimuli signaling palatable foods and many people are incredibly hypersensitive to such stimuli. Temptations such as delightful looking food and appetizing smell will have a subconscious impact on thoughts about the pleasures and enjoyments of eating. Such an contact with palatable food sooner or later will gain dominance over the purpose of weight control and boost the cognitive availability of the purpose of eating pleasure. Only individuals with effective self-regulation and dedication are able to manage to restrain from eating prohibited food and peruse their goal. Despite the fact that the eating excitement goal is more advisable than the goal of dieting some people have the ability to focus on some involving activity in their work place, and prevent thinking about eating fun (Stroebe, 2008).
According to the target turmoil theory of eating, eating pleasure and weight control are both highly suitable states. One way to examine this goal discord is to assess ambivalence. Ambivalence is a mental health state when a person holds both negative and positive feelings toward some emotional thing, food for case. One way to assess ambivalence is by asking participants to rate the amount to that they experience ambivalence in their frame of mind toward a given attitude object ex girlfriend or boyfriend. eating a donut. Stroebe and co-workers (2008) evaluated ambivalence toward eating with a self-constructed range consisting of 12 items. For instance, "I'd enjoy yummy food more, if it would not contain any energy" etc. Individuals had to indicate the degree to which each one of these items put on them. Participants were given two differential score scales. Using one scale, they had to judge the strengths of palatable food, while disregarding all the negative aspects. On the other range that they had to consider only negative aspects of palatable food, while disregarding all strengths. The results showed that the knowledge of ambivalence is a representation of the issue between the goals of eating control and eating entertainment. Also, ambivalence is much more meticulously related to the way of measuring concern for dieting than is the way of measuring weight fluctuation. These results are plausible because concern for diet is one of both goals mixed up in goal conflict according to our goal conflict theory. (Stroebe, 2008)
The problem that lots of obese people have problems with is the exterior locus of control. They believe that occasions in their lives are manipulated by factors over which they haven't any control. For example, a person eats a pizza and snow cream and now person finishes eating he interprets his own habit as bad because of the past experiences and communal pressure. After a self-flagellation with thoughts like "I'm such a lousy person, I didn't signify to eat that food" a person starts to think that this habit was out of the world of his control. Person punishes himself and experience self pity with thoughts like "I can't help it or it's not my mistake" which begin to dominate his life. Now they operates in external locus of control no longer feels in home control. Which frequently leads back to eating and thinking that overeating steams from the external locus and he cannot make it. Now this individual will tend to overeat because of his opinion that he doesn't have any effect on it. Frequently this psychological suffering and self applied defeating attitudes result from this irrational notion and lead to overeating. Soon they often take the proper execution of self talk to words such as "I must eat it" that leads that individual becomes preoccupied with (Storlie & Jordan 1987).
Some research has directed to the connection between low socioeconomic position and weight problems. Poverty, low income, sole parent home, bad neighborhoods all affect family environment. Many of these factors lead to stressful life situations. When parents are separated or divorced, children may are in two homes which can put a lot of stress in their lives. Due to the issue in the family children may well not be foster with the good eating habits. Therefore, not only the demanding events in family dynamics that causes mental health problems of children but also inappropriate education brings about child's fatness. Children craving for love and passion is frequently a reason to eat inappropriately, either overeat or when not hungry. Child psychological and psychological problems based on socioeconomic and family issues lead to sense of inadequacy and often are accountable for the obese state. The lower the socioeconomic position of a person, the higher is the likelihood of heavy. The hypothesis a low socioeconomic position gives climb to feelings of aggravation and major depression and, subsequently to excess weight has been supported by several research (Wolman, 1982).
Childbearing in addition has been identified among the factors predisposing to weight problems credited to heightened vulnerability for unwanted weight gain. For most women who just experienced a baby, returning to pre-pregnancy weight is a problem and weight gained during pregnancy may be for many of these difficult to handle emotionally. Although, many mothers are eager to lose weight it might take quite a while and most of them may lose fortitude and be not able to go back to their pre-pregnancy weight. Losing weight after pregnancy is not easy and it will take time and lots of effort to get rid of gained weight. According to Lu et al. (2001) the average maternal weight of ladies in the original prenatal good care visit increased by 20%, and the percentage of women categorised as obese increased from 7. 3% to 24. 4% over an interval of twenty years.
Furthermore, research shows that women who gain unnecessary weight during pregnancy may be at a higher likelihood to wthhold the weight after having a baby. Women who were overweight before their being pregnant will experience excessive weight gain during pregnancy and postpartum. Therefore, also, they are the much more likely to experience pregnancy and delivery difficulties. A lot of women experience stress due to the changes in the body form, weight and size that happen during the motherhood and in the postpartum period. For a few women, the strain may be more deep if the weight gained during being pregnant is excessive. The challenge lots of the women face is the stress of having to reduce so much weight as quickly as possible. That is possible only once women are committed, ambitious about shedding pounds and setting their goals of weight lost high. However, shedding pounds requires time that many mothers don't possess. The brand new lifestyle around a baby needs a big toll on the leisure time (i. e. period to exercise) and most of them are unable to get back to the body size they wish to be (Sundaram, 2009).
Moreover, much research has been conducted to research the changes in mothers' body dissatisfaction from delivery to 9 a few months postpartum, and the relationship of postpartum body dissatisfaction to weight and other health characteristics. Among the longitudinal studies, asked 506 moms to complete studies at 0-1 and 9 weeks postpartum. Postpartum changes in body dissatisfaction and weight were evaluated by paired t-tests. The results from the analysis showed that moms' body dissatisfaction more than doubled from 0-1 to 9 weeks postpartum. Although women lost typically 10. 1 pounds between 0-1 and 9 weeks postpartum, their weight at 9 calendar months postpartum remained an average of 5. 4 pounds above their pre-pregnancy weights. Body dissatisfaction at 9 weeks postpartum was associated with overeating/desire for foods abnormalities, higher current weight, worse mental health, bottle-feeding (vs. breastfeeding), being one and fewer immediate family romantic relationships. Because of those studies and many others we can see how important it is to teach women about expected postpartum weight and body changes, and to find ways to improve mothers' postpartum self-esteem and body satisfaction (Gjerdingen, Fontaine, Crow, McGovernc, Centre, 2009).
Psychological consequences induced by obesity
In america there is a strong prejudice against obesity and there are many mental issues that accompany individuals experiencing obesity. Research has shown that not only psychological disturbance causes over weight but as well mental disturbances are the consequences of weight problems. The most common psychiatric disturbances of obese people are low self applied image and negative mental reaction to dieting (Frankle & Yang, 1988). Many people keep negative attitudes towards over weight individuals. Examples include discrimination and prejudice regarding arenas such as health care and employment. Over weight individuals especially women have to are affected differential treatment credited to physical appearance. Stereotypes affiliated with carrying excess fat and obese include being self-indulgent, less self-disciplined, less attractive, less happy, and lazier.
There are numerous persistent stressors that American women experience on a regular basis such as beauty, attractiveness, and slender physique. Nowadays, women have a tendency to experience greater pressures to comply with being slender as there are more positive behaviour towards thinness. Our society give attention to body image can take a toll over a woman's emotional and physical health with an degree where thinness might take primacy over health (Paquette & Raine, 2004). For instance, this concentration can cause a lot of women to attempt dangerous weight reduction behaviors, experience poor body image and low self-esteem issues, and standard unhappiness with oneself that could lead to depression (Struggle & Brownell, 1996). The stigma associated with over weight significantly plays a part in creating hateful self-conceptions among those who find themselves fat and other people who stay away from fatness. Many analysts conclude that obese people are stigmatized because they are held accountable for their fatness, their deviant status, insufficient control and can power. Excessive fat people lack public approval and are examined based on fatness alternatively than his/her unique personality (Sundaram, 2009).
The price paid by women for being obese is more than psychological and mental. Their status and roles in society are damaged. Goldblatt, Moore and Stunkard (1965) research has shown that compared to non-obese women, heavy women were significantly less more likely to achieve an increased socioeconomic status and much more more likely to achieve a lesser status. Heavy women are assumed to get personal problems that lead to over weight. They may be stereotypically viewed as unfeminine and judged predicated on their physical appearance. Many people believe being fat is considered a rebellion against being feminine. Overweight women put up with more from the communal and mental health stigma attached to obesity, alternatively than they actually from the bodily condition. A lot of women in our society are negatively identified by weight and excluded from full participation in the ranks of the normal (Wolman, 1982).
Many fat women prefer to consume in private because they're ashamed and discomforted at how others see them. Such a negative feelings have a big toll on every woman's life and eventually will lead to serious mental issues. Women who feel worthless; have low self-esteem, physical uncomfortableness and self-denial for their weight may because of this, use their weight as a buffer against outdoor needs (Millman, 1980).
There is increasing information that obesity and depression are related. Research implies that those who are overweight or obese are more likely to feel depressed at least one week through the month. Roberts, Deleber, Strawbridge, & Kaplan (2003) found that excess weight was associated with melancholy and that fatness predicts depression eventually. Since many obese folks are forced to suffer from discrimination and the stigmas associated with over weight, this can certainly contribute to psychosocial stress, especially depression. Tests confirmed that the increased in BMI is associated with an increased risk for depression, thoughts of suicide, and suicide attempts. Interpersonal mistreatment and verbal assaults have been found to damage the body image, which in turn compromises one's self-esteem and subconscious well-being. Heo, Pietrobelli, Fontaine, Sirey, & Beliefs (2006) research found that among young women, those chubby and obese were a lot more likely to have experienced depressive moods in comparison to young women who were not chubby or obese. Carrying excess fat or obese especially among women was associated with more depressive symptoms; lower well-being, body dissatisfaction and nervousness, whereas in men, the associations were fragile and inconsistent. Obese women have a higher likelihood to see mental distress and depressive disorder associated with weight (Sundaram, 2009).
In finish, not only emotional disturbance causes fatness but also, psychological disturbances are the consequences of fatness. As explained throughout the paper, psychological factors in fatness can have a major impact on the prevalence of over weight in our culture. Embracing food to handle emotional stress can result in weight problems. Certain life occasions tend to raise the degree of stress in human beings and we create a habit to getting ourselves from the stressful situation in the manner we realize best; "consuming food". Many people eat in response to negative feelings even though it doesn't mean that everyone who experiences any of these negative feelings would be obese. But, it has been well demonstrated that many people may became obese and over weight. Also, an obese person may experience serious psychological effects from excess weight. It's not unusual for obese visitors to feel insecure and inferior to others as well as have low self-esteem and have problems with depression due to his / her condition.
