Obesity is a very complex problem involving dietary, psychological, social, and behavioral factors. Although behavioral treatment for obesity has been found to be effective for weight loss during treatment, results of studies to date on the prediction of long-term weight loss maintenance have been mixed and inconsistent. This study was conducted as a follow-up to a behavioral study by Zegman (1983) in an attempt to identify potential predictors of short- and long-term weight loss. Dietary, cognitive, and behavioral variables were examined by multiple regression analyses as possible predictors of short- and long-term weight loss were identified. Methodological questions were raised concerning sample size and the psychometric properties of the instruments used for measurement.

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This study takes the form of exploratory and descriptive research in which children in middle childhoods’ experience of their obesity was explored and described. A case study research design was used in a qualitative approach and data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. The data analysis spiral of Cresswell was implemented in order to facilitate the research process. Empirical findings present the experiences obese children in middle childhood undergo with regard to different areas of their development. The researcher drew upon literature relating to obesity and middle childhood development in order to analyse and verify collected data in pursuit of describing children’s experience of their obesity. Emotional hideaway amongst obese children, the role of the family in an obese child’s life and the reason why obese children make the wrong food choices are some of the topics not addressed in the limited scope of this project. The possibility of exploring these final thoughts provides opportunity for future research. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

The purpose of this investigation was to identify college students' visual perceptions of obese individuals and to identify any differences that may exist due to gender or body build of the subject. The subjects who participated in this study were students randomly chosen from a beginning counseling psychology course at Ball State University. One hundred subjects volunteered to complete the necessary testing for this thesis. A cross tabulation and Chi Square analysis of gender and somatotype preference found significant differences in that female subjects chose to interact less often with endomorphs than did the male subjects. The differences between the subject's somatotype and somatotype preference were found to be insignificant. / Institute for Wellness

Orientador: Juliana Alvares Duarte Bonini Campos / Coorientador: Wanderson Roberto da Silva / Banca: Pedro Henrique Berbet de Carvalho / Banca: Fernanda Ludmilla Rossi Rocha / Resumo: Objetivos: i. traduzir e adaptar culturalmente para a língua portuguesa o Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-4) e estimar suas propriedades psicométricas para uma amostra de estudantes universitários brasileiros. ii. estimar as propriedades psicométricas de uma escala de investigação da (in)satisfação com aparência corporal (BAS) para amostra de universitários. ii. desenvolver um modelo teórico para verificar o impacto de contextos socioculturais, demográficos e antropométricos na insatisfação com a aparência geral mediado pela internalização do corpo magro e atlético dos universitários. Métodos: Participaram do estudo 1.051 estudantes universitários de ambos os sexos (698 mulheres), de uma instituição pública de ensino. A versão em português do SATAQ-4 foi desenvolvida e apresentada. Os participantes preencheram o SATAQ-4, a BAS e um questionário demográfico. As propriedades psicométricas de cada instrumento foram estimadas considerando as validades fatorial, convergente e discriminante e a confiabilidade. A análise fatorial confirmatória foi utilizada. A invariância fatorial também foi estimada utilizando análise multigrupos. Após ajustamento dos modelos fatoriais aos dados, testou-se um modelo hipoteticamente causal utilizando modelagem de equações estruturais. Foi avaliado o impacto das pressões socioculturais (família, amigos e mídia), demográficos e antropométricos na (in)satisfação com a aparência corporal. As internalizações do padrão corp... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Objectives: i. to translate and culturally adapt into Portuguese the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire (SATAQ-4) and to estimate its psychometric properties for a sample of Brazilian university students. ii. to estimate the psychometric properties of a body appearance satisfaction/dissatisfaction (BAS) research scale for university students. ii. to develop a theoretical model to verify the impact of socio-cultural, demographic and anthropometric contexts on dissatisfaction with the general appearance mediated by the internalization of the lean and athletic body of university students. Methods: A total of 1,051 university students of both sexes (698 women) from a public educational institution participated in the study. The Portuguese version of SATAQ-4 was developed and presented. Participants completed SATAQ-4, BAS and a demographic questionnaire. The psychometric properties of each instrument were estimated considering factorial, convergent and discriminant validity and reliability. Confirmatory factorial analysis was used. The factorial invariance was also estimated using multigroup analysis. After adjustment of the factorial models to the data, a hypothetically causal model was tested using structural equation modeling. The impact of sociocultural (family, peers and media), demographic and anthropometric pressures on satisfaction/dissatisfaction with body appearance was evaluated. The internalizations of the ideal body pattern were inserted as media... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

[Truncated abstract] Obesity is rapidly increasing in prevalence and has significant physical and mental health implications. Stress, a general term referring to factors indicative of psychological strain such as depression and anxiety, has been identified as both a cause and consequence of weight gain and obesity in some individuals. In previous research, overeating in response to stress has been investigated as either a means of mood regulation or as a response to strict dietary restraint. Cortisol, a steroid hormone that increases in response to stress, has also been linked with increased food intake in both animal and human studies. Thus, cortisol may be an additional factor contributing to overeating and weight gain in response to stress. If stress does lead to overeating and weight gain, it is also likely that stress will inhibit attempts made by obese individuals at weight loss. The first study of this thesis was a repeated measures treatment study in which the associations of stress and cortisol levels with baseline body mass index and subsequent weight loss were investigated among females participating in a cognitive behavioural weight management programme. A cross-sectional analysis prior to treatment commencement showed that the association of stress and depression with body mass index was moderated by the severity of obesity. Dichotomous thinking, a cognitive style in which events are viewed in polarised 'black and white' terms, mediated the associations of both depression and eating disorder symptomatology with BMI. ... The second study of this thesis was a controlled laboratory-based examination of food intake following an acute psychological stressor. It was hypothesised that high baseline levels of psychological stress, such as depression and anxiety, would be associated with greater increases in negative mood and cortisol levels in response to the acute stressor, both of which, in turn, would be associated with greater food intake. Contrary to the hypothesis, baseline levels of psychological stress were not associated with the extent to which negative mood and cortisol levels increased following the acute stressor. The extent to which negative mood, but not cortisol, increased following acute stress was significantly positively associated with food intake. The results do not support the hypothesis that high cortisol levels are predictive of increased food intake in human females, although the results may have been affected by the broad participant inclusion criteria. The results suggest that increases in negative mood lead to increases in food intake, although it is argued that this is unlikely to be a general effect and suggestions for future research are made. The overall aim of this research was to examine whether stress and cortisol were associated with weight status, acute changes in eating behaviour and changes in weight in the medium-term. The results are discussed in relation to this aim, wth particular focus on the differences between treatment-seeking and community samples, implications for the treatment of obesity (especially when the individual is also experiencing high levels of depression), prevention of weight gain and possible future studies of the effects of stress and depression on weight change and eating behaviour.

This study takes the form of exploratory and descriptive research in which children in middle childhoods’ experience of their obesity was explored and described. A case study research design was used in a qualitative approach and data was gathered through semi-structured interviews. The data analysis spiral of Cresswell was implemented in order to facilitate the research process. Empirical findings present the experiences obese children in middle childhood undergo with regard to different areas of their development. The researcher drew upon literature relating to obesity and middle childhood development in order to analyse and verify collected data in pursuit of describing children’s experience of their obesity. Emotional hideaway amongst obese children, the role of the family in an obese child’s life and the reason why obese children make the wrong food choices are some of the topics not addressed in the limited scope of this project. The possibility of exploring these final thoughts provides opportunity for future research. / Social Work / M.Diac. (Play Therapy)

The present study translated the major theories of obesity into physiological terms, then tested for the ways these theories might find physiological expression. Theoretical positions included the psychoanalytic perspective, emphasizing intrapsychic processes; psychosomatic perspective, emphasizing food as an anxiolytic agent; and Schachterian perspective, emphasizing heightened sensitivity to external stimuli. Additionally, two classificatory distinctions, age at onset of obesity and extent of dietary restraint, were examined. The later distinction suggested that Schachterian findings on obese behavior were due not to obesity, but to a dieting life style.

The major part of this study was a treatment program designed to motivate mentally retarded adults to lose weight within a small group setting. Subjects were tested pre- and posttreatment on the Tennessee Self Concept Scale to ascertain any improvement in self-esteem. A 50-question diet quiz was constructed by the experimenters and administered pre- and posttreatment to find out if the subjects would improve their knowledge of health and nutrition through the study.

Clothing can be used as a tool to adjust one’s image in society. Western society’s infatuation with the slim body type has caused great discomfort for the large-size female. Hence, the effective use of the clothing "tool" is most important for the large-size female. This study was designed to determine if the place of purchase of clothing limited or enhanced the effectiveness of the clothing "tool". The objectives of this study were to determine if large-size women who shopped in department stores differed in self-esteem, body satisfaction, and design line preference from large-size women who shopped in specialty stores and to determine if relationships existed among these variables. Data were collected using a modified version of the Baggs Scale. The Likert type instrument was comprised of 10 self-esteem, 7 body satisfaction, and 14 design line preference items. The remainder of the instrument was composed of demographic information. The instrument was pre-tested twice using the female employees of The College of Human Resources at Virginia Tech. The final sample of 59 large-size females was derived from a random sample of female employees at Virginia Tech. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and Pearson Product Moment Correlations. The sample exhibited a high positive self-esteem, low body satisfaction, and a preference for clothing with vertical orientations. Significant correlations were found to exist among the variables. / Master of Science