Psychological perspective

The psychological perspective considers obesity subjectively, from the individual's point of view. It is based not on objective body mass indices, but on the feeling of being obese. Sometimes this feeling is confirmed by an increase in body weight above the norm, other times it has no justification. An extreme example of a belief in one's own obesity while actually being skinny is the condition known as anorexia.

Feeling obese is associated with a belief in having excessive body weight and/or on imagining one's own body as massive and unattractive. This is usually accompanied by a number of psychological difficulties, such as lack of acceptance of one's own appearance, distorted perception of one's own body, depressed mood, feelings of hurt and resentment, feelings of powerlessness and lack of influence, obsessive thinking about food and calories, disturbances in daily activities and in relationships with other people, and lack of control over the quantity and quality of food consumed.

As there is no close relationship between the subjective belief in one's own obesity and one's actual body weight, also objective changes in body weight (e.g. a loss of a few or several kilograms) can remain unaffected by psychological and emotional well-being. This is the case when the weight is falling, but the person losing weight does not see the results, they are not satisfied with the results or, despite noticing the changes, their mood and sense of self-attractiveness do not improve. In this case, it becomes essential to include psychological therapy in the treatment of obesity. This is particularly relevant for those suffering from phantom obesity. This phenomenon involves the entrenched belief among normal-weight people - who were once obese - that their body weight is still above accepted norms.

Bibliography:

Kaschack E. (2001). The new psychology of women. A feminist approach. Gdansk: GWP.

Zahorska - Markiewicz B. (2005). Science and practice in the treatment of obesity. Kraków: ArchiPlus.

Bak-Sosnowska M. (2009). Between the body and the mind. Obesity and weight loss in an integrative approach. Impuls Publishing House, Kraków.