Obesity and self-image in women
Obesity is often synonymous with depression… Some authors have wondered about the order of things: is it the depressive syndrome that causes overconsumption, inducing overweight, or is it on the contrary obesity that will cause the depressive state…?
Psychic suffering
In the midst of these considerations, it is psychic suffering that must be kept in mind. First observation: this overweight is less well tolerated in women than in men. Second observation: rich countries are less accepting of obesity than developing countries.
Our contemporary culture creates a conception of “physical beauty” that privileges thinness, this is widely relayed by the media. This idea of beauty positions most women outside the norm in relation to this “absolute referent”. In Africa, however, obese women do not seem as dissatisfied with their body image. In some countries, obesity is even a sign of social success, and therefore does not have the same emotional impact for these people.
In our countries, psychic suffering is linked, among other things, to the perception of our body through the eyes of others, and to what this generates in us: guilt and shame in particular. In some cases, we see behaviors of isolation and avoidance: the person stays at home so as not to be confronted with society’s attitudes of rejection and disgrace (definition of stigma according to W. Cahnman).
But the identity of a person is not, objectively, his anatomy. But, under social pressure, we can see ourselves reduced to our only body envelope. This alienation of the being leads to the loss of self-esteem. Dispossessed of a femininity of our own, feelings jostle and can lead us into a spiral: depression.
The paradox
This spiral leads women to live a paradox: on the one hand they want to free themselves from these reductive shackles dictating the value of a person to his physical aspect alone, and on the other hand they dream of conforming to them in order to be “accepted” by society. As a result, studies have shown that, although aware of the causes of their suffering, they do not find the necessary motivation to start a weight loss process.
The acceptance of the codes enacted by society leads, in other women, to extreme behaviors of submission to these dictates (anorexia, dependence on cosmetic surgery, fad diets …). Equally harmful to the body and morally taxing, these behaviors have dramatic consequences for people’s health.
For the moment, no protocol seems to have been uniformly recognized to accompany these women in the reconquest of themselves, but it seems essential to treat the psyche even before treating the physical.
Stephen Paul is the lead author and founder of My Health Sponsor. Holder of a diploma in health and well-being coaching with more than 200 articles in the field of health, he makes it a point of honor to offer advice based on reliable information, based on scientific research, and verified by health professionals.