The word "Obesity" is a name derived from the Latin word "obdere" (to eat voraciously), and it is derived from the word "obesus", which means "to eat a lot, to eat everything". When we look at prehistoric periods, the common feature of goddess figures such as Venus, Cybele and Artemis, who are called by different names in different geographies; They are obese and their reproductive and nutritional organs are exaggeratedly large. It is thought that in this form, attention is drawn to the power of women to give birth and nourishment. In ancient societies, the pregnancy or obesity of a woman or an animal was considered sacred, like the pregnancy of the earth before spring, and the health and fertility of a woman was associated with obesity. Nowadays, being healthy is associated with being thin, but for women, being healthy has become the female model in fashion magazines. According to WHO data, there are over 400 million obese and approximately 1.6 billion overweight individuals in the world, and it is estimated that these figures will reach 700 million and 2.3 billion, respectively, in 2015. Where does obesity, which exposes us to many additional diseases, stand as a mental health problem? Is obesity a cause or a consequence of mental health disorders? Despite the development of many treatment strategies to lose weight, the increase in the number of obese individuals continues. Even if weight loss is successful, weight maintenance cannot be achieved. For this reason, today, psychotherapies appear as an option in the treatment of obesity, not primarily and solely on the increase or decrease of weight, but also on cognitive areas such as eating patterns, socialization, self-esteem and body satisfaction, behaviors such as anxious or depressive thoughts, addiction, compulsive eating, binge eating. focuses on. The discrepancy in the consequences of obesity between the success of metabolic treatments and the failure of behavioral treatments to prevent obesity draws attention to the fact that this condition is not only a metabolic disorder but also a brain disease. Current research shows that obesity-related stigma begins in childhood and that these people experience depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and body satisfaction in adulthood. It has been determined that they develop desperation, suicidal ideation, inability to adapt to weight control practices, binge eating and resistance to physical activity. This situation negatively affects both the physical and mental health of the person and impairs the quality of life. Additionally, the frequency of mental disorders increases in people diagnosed with obesity. When the research is reviewed, it is clear that obesity has a direct interaction with mental health. In order to achieve effective results in the treatment of obesity, which is increasingly common today and has fatal consequences, a multidisciplinary approach, including psychiatric treatment strategies, must be chosen.
The negative consequences of obesity, especially in terms of mental health, in the world and in our country, are affected by race, education level. It is seen that its prevalence is significantly higher in women than in men, regardless of socioeconomic level. There is a directly proportional relationship between pregnancy, breastfeeding and having children and the frequency of obesity. Unfortunately, discourses about obesity do not concern women's health very much. While obesity is discussed as an important health problem for men, it is discussed more as an aesthetic problem for women. While men are told that they need to lose weight to protect themselves from the complications of obesity, women are often told that they need to lose weight in order to be more beautiful, happier, more attractive and more successful. The concept of beauty and goodness is associated with the individual's weight and body shape conforming to the ideal form. As a result of the desire to conform to this form, which is considered ideal, many people follow diets and exercises, and being thin is encouraged by the written and visual media all over the world, eating habits are changing, and disorders in eating behavior are increasing. Biological factors and psychosocial factors caused by the gender role imposed on women unfortunately leave women in a more risky situation than men when it comes to obesity and the physical and mental problems that arise due to obesity. Because of all these, obesity emerges as an important women's health problem.
Read: 0
