Of mind and matter: psychological dimensions in obesity

Obesity is a physiological energy imbalance, a chronic disorder that results from an increase in caloric intake and/or a decrease in caloric expenditure. Other than the accumulation of excess adipose tissue, there are no signs or symptoms characteristic of all obese people. Obesity rates have increased exponentially worldwide in the past thirty years for reasons that we do not entirely understand. Multiple environmental, genetic, neuro-endocrinological, and psychosocial factors contribute to the development of obesity. Though there are many different, and even controversial, frameworks for obesity, most researchers acknowledge that it can lead to serious medical and psychological morbidity. This paper focuses on psychological dimensions in the study of obesity: the intricate human "minded brain" that promotes self-regulation, motivation, and self-efficacy; the complexities involved in considering obesity a psychiatric disorder, with the possibility of a so-called "obese personality"; the role of stigma, prejudice, and discrimination; and psychiatric symptomatology among the obese.