Usefulness of Standard BMI Cut-Offs for Quality of Life and Psychological Well-Being in Women

Abstract

Objective: We examined BMI-based obesity categories and risk for poor health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and psychological well-being (PWB). Methods: Participants were 1,795 women aged 35.3 ± 10.2 years with a mean BMI of 26.6 kg/m², not seeking treatment (55%) or upon entry into a weight control program. Assessments included general HRQOL, weight-related HRQOL, self-esteem, and body image. Results: All variables, except general HRQOL, were different (p < 0.001) between normal-weight and overweight/obese women. For weight-related HRQOL and body image, worse psychosocial scores were observed linearly with higher obesity levels. Self-esteem was lower in overweight and obese women in comparison with normal-weight women, with no difference between class I and class II obesity. Participants entering a clinical program reported higher physical HRQOL, but lower self-esteem and poorer body image than community-dwelling women of equal weight. Conclusions: BMI categories are useful for identifying increased impairment in PWB and HRQOL in overweight and obese (class I or II) women. Women with a BMI under 25 kg/m² reported improved well-being and HRQOL in comparison to overweight or obese women. However, this relation may not be linear across all psychosocial outcomes, with unique patterns emerging for the association of obesity level with specific dimensions of PWB and HRQOL.

Body Dissatisfaction in Individuals with Obesity Compared to Normal-Weight Individuals: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Body dissatisfaction was then measured by calculating the difference between ideal and current silhouette, with greater discrepancies indicating greater dissatisfaction [ 39 ]. In addition to a body image questionnaire, two studies used figure drawing scales [ 20 , 30 ]. One study made use of a digital body image technique comparing both a figure drawing scale and a questionnaire [ 31 ].…”

“…Papers were rejected which were not published in the English language, not conducted using a normal-weight comparison group, did not include participants with obesity, and did not report separate outcomes for participants with overweight and obesity. Taking previous findings into consideration that hint at potential differences in body dissatisfaction among subgroups [ 19 , 20 ], articles which focused on participants of weight loss, weight maintenance or weight management interventions, focused on bariatric surgery patients or patients undergoing treatment/therapy of obesity/binge eating/eating disorders, or included/focused on pregnant women were excluded. Also, papers were rejected which did not report separate, quantifiable outcomes for the group with obesity and the comparison group.…”

“…In light of the negative preconceptions that come with not meeting society's bodily ideals, it seems unsurprising that body dissatisfaction is particularly prevalent in individuals with overweight or obesity [ 17 ] and sometimes even related to eating disorders [ 18 ]. However, it seems that not all persons with obesity are equally vulnerable to this problem: Previous evidence indicates lower prevalence of body image concerns in individuals with obesity who are not seeking treatment in comparison to those who are [ 19 , 20 ]. Moreover, individuals with normal weight are far from satisfied with their body shape or size, a circumstance so widespread among women that it has aptly been labeled as a ‘normative discontent’ [ 21 ] which reaches well into older age categories [ 15 , 22 ].…”

Comparison of Pulmonary Functions, Physical Activity Level and Quality of Life in Obese and Pre-Obese Individuals

“…Jia et al (30) found that there was a significant difference in HRQOL between normal and obese subjects, and health-related quality of life decreased with weight gain. Vieira et al (31) found that pre-obese individuals had a self-esteem lower than those with normal BMI; and that similar to obese subjects, pre-obese subjects felt that they were under constant pressure to observe community standards with regard to weight and appearance. Kim et al (32) found a significant association between obesity and subscales of HRQOL .…”

Psychometric evaluation of Arabic version of Self- Esteem, Psychological Well-being and Impact of weight on Quality of life questionnaire (IWQOL-Lite) in female student sample of PNU

“…Moreover, weight stigma increases vulnerability to various problems (Gatineau & Dent, 2011), for example, low self-esteem (Paxton, Neumark-Sztainer, Hannan & Eisenberg, 2006), and over all poor quality of life (Vieira, Palmeira, Mata, Kolotkin, Silva, Sardinha & Teixeira, 2012). Simultaneously, Body Mass Index is also found highly correlated with psychological well-being and quality of life among women (Vieira et al, 2012;Hudson, 2008). Researchers are privileged to serve at Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University that is one of the largest Women only Universities.…”