A Study on impact of Obesity and Gender on Self-Esteem of Adolescents.
Journal Title: The Odisha Journal of Psychiatry - Year 2014, Vol 21, Issue 1
Abstract
Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide. With around 1000 people dying per week from obesity related problems, paying attention to the literal meaning, symptoms, causes, impact, prevention and treatment of obesity is the need of the hour. Body image is extremely important for the young adolescents. Obesity is a major problem in this situation as obese adolescents have low self-perception and therefore low self-esteem. The basic objective of this research was to explore the role of obesity and gender on the self esteem of the adolescents. There were hypothesis, as follows; obese adolescents will have low of self-esteem compared to non-obese adolescents. Females will have low self-esteem than males. Obese females will have low self-esteem than obese males. The sample consisted of 40 adolescents, 20 boys and 20 girls with a mean age of 15 years. There were 20 obese subjects having 10 boys and 10 girls and 20 non-obese adolescents with 10 boys and 10 girls. A 2(obesity) x2 (gender) design was used. The variable obesity included two levels, obese and non-obese adolescents. The variable gender included adolescent boys and girls. The BMI Scale with ICMR classification and Self-esteem Scale (Rossenberg) were used for the purpose of collecting data. Results of the study clearly revealed that non-obese adolescents had higher self-concept than the obese adolescents'''. Thus hypothesis 1 is accepted and retained. Results of the present study go in favour of this proposition, males have higher self-esteem than their female counterparts. Thus serious thought about controlling obesity through intervention at an early age is a need. Thus family counselling, counselling in schools, individual and group counselling will be of great help for the young adolescents to make them aware of the ill effects of obesity and the possible ways to shed extra kilos of fat, to curb obesity and enhance fitness. A well-built body with a positive self esteem will definitely go a long way in maintaining a healthy lifestyle among the adolescents who can overcome the inferiority complexes and strive towards excellence in different domains of work and social life and lead a life without inhibition and fear of failure. The health centres and schools should join hands and take up joint ventures to eliminate obesity during adolescence and can guarantee a healthy and happy life in future.
Authors and Affiliations
Smicky Priya Das, Dr. Jashobanta Mahapatra, Prabhudarshan Sahoo
Keywords
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