[How do the obese persons perceive their overall health?].

Area of Science:

• Medical Science
• Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Obesity is a complex health issue affecting multiple life domains.
• Understanding patient perception of health is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how individuals with obesity perceive their health across various life aspects.
• To identify differences in health perception based on gender, treatment type, and obesity severity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the SF-36 instrument to assess 8 dimensions of health in 224 obese patients.
• Employed descriptive analysis, Student t test, Anova, and Tukey t test to analyze data.
• Examined variations in health perception concerning gender, surgical vs. nonsurgical treatment, and degree of obesity (overweight, obesity, morbid obesity).

Main Results:

• Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed in perceived health, including fatigue and health deterioration.
• Women reported poorer social and emotional functioning compared to men.
• Patients undergoing gastric bypass experienced more fatigue than those with gastric banding.
• Morbidly obese individuals exhibited lower physical functioning, increased pain, and worse overall health perception than obese individuals.

Conclusions:

• Obese patients perceive their health status as having deteriorated.
• Women are disproportionately affected in social and emotional functioning compared to men.
• Obesity severity significantly impacts physical functioning, pain perception, and overall health outlook.