What are the psychological consequences of obesity and being overweight? The appearance of depression, anxiety, low self-esteem is common … We discover more.
Both being overweight and obesity itself is one of the most common problems not only in women and men, but also in the smallest, being childhood obesity itself one of the disorders that most concern many doctors and health authorities.
It is known, as a wide variety of studies have shown in this regard, that obesity can lead to low self-esteem, mainly due to the fact that certain people who are overweight or obese do not feel completely safe and comfortable with their body.
As we know, self-esteem is a practically fundamental concept when it comes to enjoying a full and, above all, happy life, since it is related to what we think of ourselves, and what others ultimately think about our own person.
But sometimes, that low self-esteem can go a little further, and cause an even more serious problem sooner. It is when the depression associated with obesity appears. In this sense, there is no doubt that psychologists will be of great help.
And, as you might imagine, obesity has serious consequences on our health, since it tends to increase the risk of suffering from heart problems (heart attacks and angina), high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, and present a risk greater to suffer much more serious diseases, such as diabetes or cancer.
Its consequences tend to be psychological as well, directly related to low self-esteem and the feelings of complex that people with excess weight tend to have in a very common way.
To this is added, for example, the perseverance involved in following a weight loss diet with the aim of reducing weight, since it must be linked to the practice of regular physical exercise and a change in lifestyle. All this tends to have a direct influence on the fact that many people stop weight loss regimes, with the consequent weight gain that is known as the rebound effect.
The main psychological consequences of being overweight and obese
Unfortunately, it tends to be quite common for people who are overweight, especially if they are obese, to receive criticism, negative comments and jokes in very bad taste. Obviously, all these situations and experiences undermine the person’s own self-esteem.
What’s more, did you know that low self-esteem is directly associated with greater weight gain? In fact, many specialists agree that, in general, people with obesity tend to have a more dependent personality, which makes us face a dead end.
These emotional problems are even more serious when obesity begins in childhood, since that excess weight can have a tremendously negative influence on the body image that the child or adolescent has of themselves, causing social avoidance behaviors, low self-esteem and a low quality of life, directly related to the child’s level of life satisfaction.
Treatment of depression associated with obesity
When a psychologist specialist is faced with a case of depression related to obesity itself, he must first deal with techniques and tricks that help the person to increase their own self-esteem.
The patient must accept himself as he is, trying to feel comfortable with himself and love himself internally, so that later he can be accepted by others. In these cases, your family, partner and close friends can be of great help, especially if they have the psychologist’s indication to be a direct support of the patient himself.
If you feel that you suffer from depression, and that it is directly or indirectly associated with the excess weight that you may have, one of the best recommendations we could give you is that you go to the consultation of a specialist in the matter.
It will help you to solve depression and raise your self-esteem, at the same time that it will give you advice to accept yourself as you are.
