Gender, Excessive Body Weight, and Psychological Well-Being in Adulthood

Abstract

We examined gender differences in the association between body mass index (BMI) and psychological well-being. Regression analysis involving 3,251 adults indicated that gender moderated the BMI-psychological well-being link. In follow-up analyses, higher BMI predicted lower psychological well-being only among women. When participants were categorized into 5 BMI groups, women reported lower psychological well-being than men in the overweight and obese I groups, but no gender differences were observed in the more seriously obese or normal-weight groups. Also, among women, all 4 groups with higher-than-normal BMI had lower psychological well-being than normal-weight women; for men, no significant differences were found across the 5 groups. These findings are discussed in relation to research on stigma theory and gender-differentiated cultural norms regarding weight.

Gender differences in psychological well-being: tests of factorial invariance

“…This revealed the existence of a higher-order PWB factor [11,13,20]. In the present research, only AU and EM exhibited trivial noninvariance in the factor mean; therefore, it is reasonable to infer that the mean difference of the higher-order PWB factor between genders is inclined toward invariance.…”

“…Other studies have also revealed this problem [8][9][10][11][12]. To avoid this problem, some studies have used a total score instead of each subscore of PWB to detect gender differences [11,13]. To enhance the reliability of each subscale, Li [14] selected another 18 items from Ryff's 84 items.…”

Exploring Perceptions of Barriers, Facilitators, and Motivators to Physical Activity Among Female Bariatric Patients

“…The disproportionate amount of women seeking bariatric surgery lends itself to the strong social stigma assigned to obese women in reflection of pervasive gender-differentiated cultural norms that promote a standard of thinness as the ideal female body shape (Fredrickson andRoberts 1997, Bookwala andBoyar 2008).…”

“…Weight stigmatization reduces psychological well-being, whereby a greater BMI is highly associated with poorer psychological well-being among women, but not men, even when accounting for sociodemographic characteristics (Bookwala and Boyar 2008). Reduced psychological well-being reduces self-efficacy and motivation which in turn may sabotage long-term adoption of health behaviours such as PA .…”

Association of Positive Psychological Wellbeing and BMI with Physical and Mental Health among College Students

“…Further, examining gender, BMI, and psychological well-being of 3,251 adults ages 25-74, the study found that women with higher BMI scored lower in psychology well-being compared to those with the normal weight. In contrast, men did not show any significant differences between BMI and psychological well-being scores Bookwala and Boyar [30].…”