The Relationship between Body-Esteem and Global Self-Esteem of Obese and Strategies for Support - Case Study Example

Indeed it is described by Gard and Wright (2005)  as an ‘Obesity epidemic’ who also record that it is the world’s ‘number one health problem’ affecting the whole population however, what has emerged recently is that the problem is not restricted to the adult population. Children and adolescents are showing increasing signs of obesity. Concerns against the rise in obesity and overweight have been raised by pediatricians, health professionals, and the media. The risks of obesity for children between 6 and 11 years have increased from approximately 8% in the 1970s to approximately 13% at the beginning of the new millennium (Kaczynski, Goold & Mudry 2004). Among adolescents aged 12–19, it tripled, from 5 to 16% between 1980 and 2002 (Classen & Hokayem, 2005).

Obesity in young people can be considered a special need because the attitude toward obesity influences the self-esteem of a child and self-esteem influences the performance of an individual (Byrne, 1999). Obesity usually starts during childhood and continues into adulthood through adolescence. It has dramatically increased during the past two decades and it is now essential to gain a better understanding of this condition as it is a barrier to the development of the individual. This will help to develop a support system which is essential to enable the obese to overcome feelings of low self-esteem and body-esteem.

These impact the psychosocial functioning of an individual which is a barrier to development interventions (Dreyer & Egan, 2008). An obese colleague at work often turns up late for class and suffers from low esteem. She attributes it to her being overweight, which makes her feel tired and makes it a great effort to move around. This is childhood obesity and though she has been trying to lose weight, she has not been able to. This has hurt her psychologically and she feels disliked by other students and ‘different’ which makes her feel slightly marginalized. As a result, her self-esteem is low and she is unable to communicate effectively with her peers.