Diet health centre

Being obese can affect your daily life and how you feel about yourself. ^{[26] [24]}

Many people who are obese say they aren't happy with their bodies and feel life is harder because of their size. These negative feelings make it harder to summon up the will to lose weight. Eating is comforting, so feeling this way can lead to eating even more. ^[26]

• Life can be difficult in practical ways. It can be hard to find clothes that fit, and seats are often not designed for larger body sizes.

• You may also find it uncomfortable or even painful to do everyday things such as driving, walking, climbing stairs, or carrying shopping.

• Many people with obesity say they feel bad about themselves. They don't like the way they look. They may not give themselves credit for the good things they've done. Or they may feel worthless. This is called low self-esteem. Other people feel ashamed or guilty.

• You may be more likely to suffer from mental health problems such as depression or anxiety disorder. You may also have a condition called binge eating disorder, when you eat more at one time than most people would.

• Feeling bad can affect your social life or your work. For example, you may not feel able to make friends, go to work or take part in education, or even go shopping. Perhaps you don't apply for jobs because you don't think you'll be good enough to get one.

• Other people can make life harder. In a perfect world, nobody would be judged by how they look. But people often have set ideas about what overweight people are like and why they put on so much weight. Other people may think you are greedy, sloppy or lazy.

Glossary

generalised anxiety disorder

If you have this psychological illness, you feel anxious and worried most of the time. You may have other symptoms, such as feeling tired or being indecisive. Worrying this much can make you ill and make it hard to live a normal life. There are good treatments for anxiety disorder.

depression

Depression is a mental illness in which your mood is low and you feel sad most of the time. It can range from a mild illness through to a severe one in which you lose interest in life and may be suicidal.

For more terms related to Obesity

Citations