Abstract:
Obesity is found to have a significant impact on body image perception
and overall well-being. In many western societies, being slim is deemed
attractive and very much admired. However, in some developing countries, the
opposite seems to be the case. This quantitative study assessed the influence of
body image and weight-related stigma on the psychological well-being of
obese women in the Kumasi Metropolis. A sample of 384 obese women
purposely selected from health shops and some fitness centers. The body
shape questionnaire BSQ-34, the inventory of the Stigmatization Situation
(SSI) and finally, the psychological well-being tools were used. The statistical
tools used for the analysis included frequency distributions, one-sample t-test
analysis, Pearson Moment Correlation Coefficient, and simple linear
regression analysis. The tests were conducted for significant differences at a
significance level of 0.05. From the results, it was found that generally obese
women in the Kumasi Metropolis were significantly satisfied with their body
image. It was also found that, Perceived weight-related stigma does not
significantly influence the psychological well-being of obese women on the
Kumasi Metropolis. The study, therefore, concluded that psychological wellbeing
of obese women in the Kumasi Metropolis is not affected by body
image satisfaction and weight-related stigma. From the study, it is
recommended that counsellors, clinical psychologists and other mental health
professionals prioritize and tailor make their therapeutic practices and public
lectures to enable concerned obese women to overcome their body image
dissatisfaction.
