Quality of life and psychological well‐being in obesity management: improving the odds of success by managing distress

Abstract

SummaryBackgroundObesity is increasing in prevalence and placing an ever‐greater burden on individuals and healthcare resources alike. Obesity management is complex and, for many, elusive.Aims and methodsThis paper reviews the major factors that influence psychological well‐being in individuals with obesity and describes the means by which their impact on distress and other aspects of quality of life (QoL) can be quantified. The goal is to enable healthcare providers to set reasonable, achievable, maintainable weight loss targets that will improve the psychological well‐being and QoL of individuals living with obesity. PubMed and Web of Science searches were conducted to identify literature that addresses the key question: How can distress over obesity be measured and taken into account when tailoring weight loss interventions for a particular patient?Discussion and conclusions‘Distress over obesity’ is a key parameter that illustrates the psychological consequences of excess weight. Healthcare providers can draw on a range of obesity‐specific and non‐specific assessment tools to quantify distress as well as the other contributions of obesity to QoL and mental/emotional health. When physicians consider the psychological/QoL aspects of obesity and how these change with successful weight loss, it becomes possible to set achievable, realistic weight loss goals and develop a manageable plan to achieve them. Any future developments that make it easier to achieve these goals should be made widely available to all patients in need, in order to help them turn a vicious cycle of failure into a virtuous cycle of success.

Allostatic load and executive functions in overweight adults

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Personalizing obesity assessment and care planning in primary care: patient experience and outcomes in everyday life and health

“…Obesity management needs to address the effects of stigma on people living with obesity . Our data bears witness to how people living with obesity internalize socio‐cultural discourses of blame and shame that need to be shifted to foster well‐being, confidence, self‐acceptance and intrinsic motivation . Furthermore, misconceptions about physiopathology and chronicity of obesity, including unrealistic expectations for weight loss, need to be reframed and shifted.…”

Are articles labelled as “Editor's Choice” downloaded more?

“…As a bibliometric experiment, I made a list of all EC articles from 2016 to 2017, excluding editorials, and examined the number of downloads from the journal's website ascertained by Wiley as of 22 August 2018 (Table ). For the articles published in 2016 and 2017, I also compiled a list of the top 10 downloaded articles from the journal (Table ). How many of my EC articles made the top 10 list?…”