Abstract
It has been documented that individuals who are overweight and have negative feelings about their body suffer from having a low self-esteem. Their self-esteem is related to their sexual attractiveness, weight concern and their physical condition. This study will attempt to determine if individuals who suffer from obesity experience low self-esteem related issues; it will also seek to identify if body weight has a greater impact on the self-esteem of females than it does on males.
Does Obesity Have an Effect on an Individual’s Self-Esteem
Introduction
There is a growing body of literature that has evolved over the past few years that indicate a relationship among self-esteem and body weight. This study is being done to
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Due to its public health importance this development in child obesity should be closely monitored. Self-esteem has been defined as the individual’s (human being, both male and female) evaluation of their self-worth, their appraisal of their appearance, beliefs and emotions as measured by the Rosenberg’s Self Esteem test. A summary of some of the key empirical studies that are relevant to the study of obesity and its role on self-esteem will now be …show more content…
With the influences of the media, society is bombarded with images of health, beauty, attractiveness, fashion and fitness. The super, skinny woman and the muscular and handsome man is plastered everywhere, thus adding pressure to conform to these ideals. When people compare themselves to persons different from them, they usually develop an inaccurate appraisal of themselves and their bodies. They may see themselves as lacking and engage in behaviours to emulate the bodies of those presented in the media. As noted earlier, failure to conform to these media images, results in persons regarding their bodies negatively and developing low-self-esteem. (Russello 2013) claims that both men and women are confronted with pressures from the media to conform to society's attractiveness ideal. The study points out that man are not pressured to be thin, but to be muscular. The media exposure has been shown to elevate men’s concern about muscularity, fitness and overall body satisfaction. Rusello further states that the handsome man always gets the beautiful woman and this places pressure to adhere to society’s ideals of what is attractive and what is not. In essence the self-esteem suffers if the success of the attainment of meeting society’s perception of beauty is not
Marium Javaid and Iftikhar Ahmad authors of the study from the University of Management and Technology in Lahore, Pakistan had two phases for the study. In the first phase of the study, 97 undergraduate students were under administration of the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule, Self-Esteem Scale, Body Image Satisfaction, and Figure Rating Scale. The second phase was, 47 women volunteered and were shown images of the ideal women as in intervention. They were asked after looking at the images to complete the Negative and Positive Affect Schedule and Body Image Scale, and it was performed a second time to look into the views of their recent feelings and views of themselves. The results of both of the phases showed that in the first phase of the study showed that self-esteem and body mass predicted body satisfaction, and in the second phase results it was shown that the females of the different body weight showed no change in their body satisfaction, except the overweight female
The author, Xiao, further explains how the media can cause corrupted body images, but may also have positive outcomes. Throughout the article, Xiao expresses a state of neutrality, he constantly stresses the both positive and negative stances of media. Moreover, the author provides the audience with structural models that represent the different medias and the influence it has on an individual’s self-esteem and body image. In addition to these structural models, the author concludes
The way that obesity are portrayed and framed by the media actually shaped the public’s understanding and attitudes toward individuals affected by obesity. Negative portrayals of obese persons are become more common in TV shows, new reports, and movie. Unfortunately, most of the content in the media tend to illustrates obese characters as being lazy sloppy, unhappy and unattractive. A recent study suggested that individuals who viewed photographs expressed more negative attitudes toward obese people than did who viewed the positive photographs.
Worley’s aim for the article is to promote self appreciation. Worley explains that there is a growing number of people who are beginning to accept their fatness. As a member of the National Association to Advance Fat People (NAAFA), Worley is able to provide a personal experience which expresses her need to find a deep
Worley states that fat people are often excluded from social events and situations, such as the lead role in a school play and parties. This occurs because people do not want to be around fat people for the fear of embarrassing themselves (163). Psychologically, fat people can be subjected to low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety due to the way people look down on them. In the ignorance of others and pressures of society, beauty is seen in thin and toned bodies (165). Thus, rather than accepting obese people for who they are, people disgrace them in society resulting in negative psychological and social
Nowadays, society is obsessed with the way our body looks because it is now used as a way to portray what is on the inside. The ideal body image is socially designed as the ultimate goal that one can attain in order to fit-in and be acknowledged in today’s society. The image that society has on the “perfect body” that has been gathered through media, ads and culture, is something that most people have started to “idolize” and are setting
In American culture, the obese body is largely unaccepted and one factor that contributes to this annulling representation is the abundance of opposing reactions that people display towards overweight people. It is a stigma that often taints and belittles the person, leading others to judge the targeted individual in a cynical matter, rejecting, hating, or ridiculing him or her. That can often lead the person to develop severe psychological and emotional problems. The short story “The Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus follows a girl named Louise from age nine up until the time she becomes a mother. The usage of a compressed story on Dubus’ part provides the reader insight and brings attention to the damage that can be done when family members force negative body images on young children.
It is possible that those who are obese are less likely to have strong social relationships as they are left constantly teased and/or disvalued. Some may be antisocial due to demotivation from anxiety or depression issues-which may lead to self isolation, the other causes being lack of confidence and/or low self esteem. Bullying is also primarily associated with obesity as it is highly probable. Consequently it leads to depression and anxiety disorders. In order to help support those living with obesity and prevent future obesity cases, the National Obesity Strategy will be serving to take action over the next 10 years.
A common issue surrounding many people’s day to day lives is their weight. Does weight define us as our identity or is it just a way to characterize someone? Discussed in Andre Dubus’, “The Fat Girl,” he writes about a woman named Louise who is overly engulfed about her appearance to the point of it being a psychological issue. Her issues originate from the input of her mother’s thoughts and later on is overly pressed by her friend, then soon her husband. During the story, Louise misunderstands that her struggles and issues are not from her weight, but from her inner thoughts and mind caused by her inner group.
In today’s modern culture, almost all forms of popular media play a significant role in bombarding young people, particularly young females, with what happens to be society’s idea of the “ideal body”. This ideal is displayed all throughout different media platforms such as magazine adds, television and social media – the idea of feminine beauty being strictly a flawless thin model. The images the media displays send a distinct message that in order to be beautiful you must look a certain way. This ideal creates and puts pressure on the young female population viewing these images to attempt and be obsessed with obtaining this “ideal body”. In the process of doing so this unrealistic image causes body dissatisfaction, lack of self-confidence
Men and women nowadays are starting to lose self-confidence in themselves and their body shape, which is negatively impacting the definition of how beauty and body shape are portrayed. “...97% of all women who had participated in a recent poll by Glamour magazine were self-deprecating about their body image at least once during their lives”(Lin 102). Studies have shown that women who occupy most of their time worrying about body image tend to have an eating disorder and distress which impairs the quality of life. Body image issues have recently started to become a problem in today’s society because of social media, magazines, and television.
Credibility Statement: I use to tell myself this when I was in high school, after looking at a music video or reading a magazine. Seeing women who were 100 pounds with zero body fat made me look at myself differently. Reveal Topic/Thesis: In today's society, the media plays a part in how we perceive our body. The way the media's advertisements portray body images rarely resemble our own, but what they consider beauty.
Finishing the first lap of the mile run, I struggled heavily to keep my breaths at a constant rate as they soon turned into desperate gasps. Other runners sped passed me, some mumbling bitter words at me because I was obstructing their path. During my final lap, my pace drastically deteriorated to the point where I was forced to walk. Reaching the finish line, I noticed that everyone else had finished. Embarrassed, I closed my eyes tightly and rushed through the laughing crowds.
However, exercise itself has been linked to improved self-esteem in young women (Yigiter 2014). Self-esteem plays an important role in one’s personality and has been linked to many positive characteristics such as an ability to handle stress and emotional stability (Wagnsson, Lindwall, Gustafsson 2014). Mruk (2013) stated that social scientists had three different definitions for self-esteem. The first, which happens to be a major definition, connects self-esteem to a person’s general success, primarily motivated by areas in the individual’s life that they find meaningful. The second definition which is used most commonly is based on the understanding that self-esteem is an attitude or feeling concerning with an individual’s “self-worth.”
The concept that each one of us has of itself is who we really are in the eyes of the world. Our strengths, weaknesses and way of dealing with life are values that show your true face. Knowing our own being helps to achieve great goals; However, when you have no idea who you really are, you are in serious trouble, this phenomenon will invite you to the eternal failure and deterioration of your own self, without achieving your goals. This research is carried out with the idea of exposing the general concept of self-esteem, knowing some rules or tips that help the development and, finally, its importance for life and society.