Body appreciation and appearance evaluation in individuals with obesity compared to individuals with normal-weight: find
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Body appreciation and appearance evaluation in individuals with obesity compared to individuals with normal‑weight: findings from a representative German population sample Natascha‑Alexandra Weinberger1,2 · Claudia Luck‑Sikorski1,2,3 Received: 1 September 2020 / Accepted: 10 November 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract Purpose Body image has been identified as an important factor in mental health in individuals with obesity. Previous studies have focused on negative body image and research of positive body image—particularly in obesity—is still in its infancy. The current study explored the positive body image facet body appreciation and the negative facet appearance evaluation in different BMI groups as well as men and women. Methods A total of 1003 participants of the general German public above the age of 18 years completed measures on body appreciation and appearance evaluation. Results Significantly lower body appreciation was observed in male participants with obesity compared to normal-weight participants. In women, the BMI groups did not differ significantly in body appreciation. BMI was negatively associated with appearance evaluation in both genders. While men and women did not differ in body appreciation, men reported lower appearance evaluation scores compared to women. Conclusion The present study is one of few that investigated positive body image in individuals with obesity compared to individuals with normal weight. The findings underscore the potential of body appreciation as a resource in treatment of body image concerns in individuals with obesity. Further implications for future research are discussed. Level of evidence III, case–control analytic study. Keywords Body appreciation · Body image · Appearance evaluation · Obesity · Adults
Introduction Due to its rising prevalence and thus significant contribution to the burden of disease, obesity has been dubbed a “global pandemic” [1]. Individuals with obesity are confronted with numerous physical as well psychosocial consequences [2, 3]. Among the latter, stigmatization and mental illness are of * Natascha‑Alexandra Weinberger natascha‑[email protected] 1
University of Applied Health Sciences SRH Gera, Neue Straße 28‑30, 07548 Gera, Germany
2
Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) Adiposity Diseases, University Hospital Leipzig, Philipp‑Rosenthal‑Str. 27, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
3
The Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG), Helmholtz Zentrum München German Research Center for Environmental Health, Philipp‑Rosenthal‑Str. 27, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
particular concern: Wu and Berry [4] report a positive link between weight stigma and eating disturbances, depression, anxiety and body dissatisfaction in adults with overweight and obesity. Further, a significant association between obesity and psychiatric conditions, particularly depression, has been found [5]. However, the relationship between the conditions is complex and numerous mediating factors have been
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