The relationship between overweight and psychological problems in adult Czech population

Overweight is often mentioned in causal relationship with various psychological problems and a lack of self-control. 438 randomly chosen subjects (selected from electoral registers or by random walk method)--men and women from Prague and the countryside--were divided according to their body weight into two groups, one with BMI equal or lower that 25, the other one with BMI higher than 25. 92.2 per cent of the subjects were overweight, 8 per cent had BMI higher than 30. Comparison of the two groups with lower and higher body weight based on a self-report questionnaire (GHQ, CAGE and some other items) showed differences between men and women. In men, with growing body weight the self-control in food intake decreased and problems related to lack of self-control increased significantly (smoking, problems with alcohol). On the contrary, women with overweight reported higher self-control in food intake (dieting) and had less problems with alcohol. The relationship between psychological problems (depression, anxiety) and overweight was not unequivocally proved. Men with higher body weight reported significantly less somatic problems in the GHQ. They also suffered comparatively less from depression and anxiety. The overweight women showed slightly more anxiety and significantly higher social dysfunction than women with normal body weight.