The present thesis provides insight into health psychology aspects of overweight and obesity prevention and therapy. Participation behavior, psychosocial well-being and mental health have been examined closely. Continuous adherence to physical activity programs designed to avoid development or progression of juvenile overweight and obesity is difficult to maintain in everyday-life of participants. Motivation for participation and a personal schedule, that complements intervention time requirements, is essential for success and sustainability of physical activity interventions. Media support in promoting adherence is a topic of controversial discussion, but might help to promote motivation for health behavior change if used appropriately for the right target group. Therefore, means of communicating with young people need to be analyzed and integrated into health messages in order to make them convincing and interesting. Further media devices and channels need to be investigated to achieve an up-to-date understanding of health promotion technology. Telephone counseling is as effective as face-to-face counseling regarding BMI reduction. However, its effect on psychosocial well-being and body image seems to be minor. The effect of parental delivery of health messages and information on psychosocial well-being and stress to their children regarding body image and related constructs needs to be further elucidated. Mediators and moderators should be investigated in order to be able to control health promotion content. Mental health plays a crucial role in the development and progression of extreme obesity in adolescence. Early mental health impairments such as internalizing and externalizing behavior may lead to pathological eating and pathological health behavior habits and consequent weight gain. During the course of a treatment program it is of great importance to focus on psychiatric comorbidities in order to achieve stable and long-lasting effects on weight loss and lifestyle behavior. Adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery often suffer from moderate to severe depressive symptoms or clinically diagnosed depression. The interdependency between depression and obesity impedes predictability of bariatric surgery on weight loss outcomes and compliance with lifestyle requirements after surgery. In any case, mental health needs to be closely examined before a patient undergoes surgery. Monitoring and stabilization of psychological well-being after invasive treatment could lead to the practice of beneficial health behavior, enduring weight stabilization and improved quality of life.

Problem: Arbetsmiljön är viktig för människors välbefinnande. Hälsofrämjande faktorer antas inte bara styrka individens fysiska och psykiska hälsa, utan även företagets konkurrenskraft och lönsamhet. I uppsatsen undersöker vi hur företaget SSAB i Borlänge arbetar med hälsa genom att tillämpa ett hälsofrämjande perspektiv och utgå från teorin om Känslan av sammanhang (KASAM). Ledarskapsvärderingar har betydelse för medarbetares hälsa (Hanson, 2004) och vi undersöker vilken uppfattning ett antal chefer har om sina roller i det hälsofrämjande arbetet och deras syn på medarbetarundersökningen HälsoSAM som företagshälsovården på SSAB bedriver. Arbetsbelastningen på medarbetare och chefer ökar till följd av sparkrav, samtidigt som resurserna minskar (Gatu, 2003). Följden blir en större risk för ohälsa och ett sätt att minska sjukfrånvaron är att genomföra hälsofrämjande insatser (Prevent, 2001). Syfte: Syftet med studien är att utifrån ett hälsofrämjande perspektiv förklara vad chefer har för möjligheter att skapa förutsättningar för att främja medarbetarnas hälsa på SSAB i Borlänge. Metod: Den metod som ligger till grund för uppsatsen baseras på ett kvalitativt angreppssätt där semistrukturerade intervjuer samt litteraturstudier genomförts för att samla information. Analys: Ledarens beteende påverkar medarbetarna. Hög arbetsbelastning på SSABs chefer leder till lägre närvaro bland medarbetarna, vilket i sin tur ger sämre förutsättningar för att främja hälsan. HälsoSAM kartlägger medarbetarnas hälsoläge, både välbefinnande och arbetskapacitet. Resultaten är vägledande i det hälsofrämjande arbetet men överbelastning, tidsbrist och kunskapsbrist hos cheferna bidrar till att uppföljningen inte blir systematisk. För ett väl fungerande hälsoarbete krävs systematik. Slutsats: Hälsofrämjande processer i arbetslivet skapas genom balans mellan krav och resurser. På SSAB i Borlänge hindras hälsoarbetet av tidsbrist och kunskapsbrist hos cheferna. Kostnadsbesparingar påverkar hälsoarbetet negativt och systematiken i uppföljningsarbetet blir lidande. Ansvaret för hälsoarbetet läggs på företagshälsovården, men utan stöd från chefer blir inte hälsoarbetet en naturlig del i verksamheten. Det är viktigt att i rådande situation se vad främjande av hälsa kan ge tillbaka till företaget i både ekonomiska och kvalitativa termer. Insikt om detta ökar chefernas incitament att prioritera hälsofrämjande processer och organisera arbetet så att människor har förutsättningar att hantera, kontrollera och klara av sina uppgifter. / Problem: The working environment is essential for human well-being. Health factors are assumed not only to strengthen the individuals’ physical and mental health, but also the company’s competitiveness and profitability. In the paper, we examine how the company SSAB in Borlänge is working with health by applying a health perspective and by applying the theory of sense of coherence (SOC). Leadership values are important for employees’ health (Hanson, 2004) and we are examining the perception a number of managers have of their roles in health promotion, and their views of the employee survey HälsoSAM, which the occupational health services at SSAB perform. Employees and managers workload is increasing due to cutbacks, while resources are decreasing (Gatu, 2003). The consequence is a greater risk of ill health and a way to reduce sick leave is health promotion (Prevent, 2001). Purpose: The purpose of the study is from a health perspective explain managers’ opportunities to create conditions to promote employees' health at SSAB in Borlänge. Method: The methodology underlying this study is based on a qualitative approach in which semi-structured interviews and literature studies are conducted to gather information. Analysis: Managers’ behavior affects the employees. High workload on SSAB's managers leads to lower attendance among , which in turn provides fewer opportunities for health promotion. HälsoSAM maps employees' health status. The results are indicative of the health promotion work, but overload, lack of time and lack of knowledge among managers contribute to that the follow-up does not become systematic. Well-functioning health work requires systematic work. Conclusion: A health-promoting process at work is created by the balance between demands and resources. The health-promoting process at SSAB in Borlänge is prevented by lack of time and lack of knowledge among managers. Reorganizations and cost savings negatively affect health promotion in the workplace and the systematic in the follow-up work suffers. Responsibility for health work is placed on occupational health, but without support from managers, the health work does not become a natural part of the business. In the current situation, it is important to see what health promotion can give in return in both financial and qualitative terms. If the managers realize this, it increases the incentives to prioritize the process of health promotion and organize the work so employees have the ability to handle, control and manage their work.