A Focus into Obesity: A Comparative Psychosocial Probe of Selected Personality Correlates

Abstract

Obesity poses to be a global pandemic and a growing health concern in countries throughout the world. The present study probes into the personality correlates of individuals with varying body weights. The study involves a sample of 120 individuals between 18-45 years of age. The total sample was divided into 4 sub-groups, namely, obese, overweight, underweight and normal controls. They were assessed on different personality variables, namely, thought-shape fusion, body apperception, behavioral inhibition-activation, self-esteem and food-craving by applying standardized questionnaires and using standard procedures. The main objective of this study was to examine the relative standing of the four groups in these domains. Results showed that all the four groups differed significantly in terms of all the variables. Obese and overweight individuals have relatively higher thought-shape fusion, lower self-esteem, are more concerned about their body appearance, less bothered about body integrity and have relatively higher craving for food than normal controls. Contrary to this, underweight individuals have low thought-shape fusion, high behavior activation, high self-esteem and low food-craving. The present findings are of immense value in understanding the psychological dimensions associated with increased body weight.