How obesity affects mental health, sexual well being and other areas of life

World Obesity Day is observed on October 11. Obesity can impact different areas of your life: your physical health, emotional status, sexual relationships, spiritual well being included.

Editorial Team | Updated: October 10, 2018 3:37 pm

Obesity can have a detrimental effect on your mental health © Shutterstock

Did you know that obesity is the cause of more than 3.4 million deaths and at least 4 per cent of Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) all around the world? It is estimated that the health condition of obese persons’ is most often worse than people with normal weight and the lifespan of obese people is on average is shorter by two years.

Some of the co-morbidities related to obesity include cancers (cancers of breast, endometrial, ovarian, colorectal, esophageal, kidney, pancreatic, prostate), Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, stroke, Coronary Artery Disease, Congestive Heart Failure, asthma, chronic back pain, osteoarthritis, pulmonary embolism, gallbladder disease, and also an increased risk of disability. All this leads to more than three million deaths worldwide annually.

Obesity discrimination can lead to some mental disorders, says research. There is an increased risk of low self-esteem, mood disorder, motivational disorders, eating problems, impaired body image, interpersonal communication problems and all these directly or indirectly affect the quality of life. Obesity discrimination can also lead to overeating, bulimia, or other related problems.

Obesity in both men and women increase the risk of poorer sexual health. Obese individuals, attribute this to their appearance and their weight and encounter frequent difficulties in their sexual activities. Sexual activity and sexual health outcomes such as sexual satisfaction, unintended pregnancy, and abortion have been mentioned as relevant issues in several studies. Sexual quality of life is particularly impaired for obese women who are also faced with the complexity of the therapeutic procedures.

Obesity affects all the key areas of living including growth and development, educational process, employment structure, and provision of health care. Various studies confirm that obese people are often ridiculed by their teachers, physicians, and the public. At times they also suffer from discrimination, ridicule, social bias, rejection, and humiliation. Weight-related discrimination is related to pathological overeating, binge eating or even sedentary life and decreased physical activity that in turn leads to greater weight gain. This vicious cycle again strengthens the risk of exposure to weight-related discrimination.

Did you know that lower levels of spiritual well-being are correlated with higher levels of emotional eating, especially in women? Emotional eating is linked to impaired nutritional behaviours such as higher caloric intake, binge eating, and bulimic eating desires.

Inputs from
Djalalinia S, Qorbani M, Peykari N, Kelishadi R. Health impacts of Obesity. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences. 2015;31(1):239-242. doi:10.12669/pjms.311.7033.

Published: October 10, 2018 3:32 pm | Updated:October 10, 2018 3:37 pm

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