Overweight And Emotional Health

There's a physical emphasis on the problems being
overweight can cause. In other words, the warnings about
excess body weight are usually warnings about physical
risks. It's a sensible approach: there are numerous
physical risks to being overweight, including risks to the
heart, the entire circulatory system, the digestive system,
and other regions of the body as well.

An overlooked aspect when discussing the risks of being
overweight, however, are the emotional difficulties that
overweight people often cope with. Being overweight can be
a terrific psychological burden, which is typically
expressed in one of two ways: through personal interaction,
or through self-assessment. From a perspective of personal
interaction, being overweight is frequently an invitation
to criticism. This reality can be especially painful for
overweight children. Children are often overly frank and
even cruel in their criticisms. A child who is overweight
can be bombarded with insults and verbal assaults by peers
because of their body type. And the notion that childhood
hurt isn't especially significant is not necessarily
accurate. People who were overweight as children can be
extremely sensitive, often because they were harassed as
children by their peers for being overweight, and they
still feel hurt by those criticisms.

Criticism for being overweight isn't just limited to
children however. Adults can nag and harass and even insult
other adults who are overweight. In fairness, adult
criticism directed towards other adults who are overweight
is often expressed from concern. The reality is that being
overweight is a very effective method for shortening life
span. Because they don't want to see people they care for
die or become ill, adults can make inquiries of overweight
acquaintances. These inquiries can feel like harassment
though if they're delivered in an abrupt way or come often.

The self-assessment of an overweight person can be even
harsher than the external criticism they may receive. Many
societies, western societies in particular, have a bias
towards people who are fat. The thinking often goes that
overweight people are unattractive and/or lazy and
undisciplined. People who are overweight are not immune to
this perception. In fact, overweight people are often
extremely unkind to themselves and flagellate themselves
over their body image. Though understandable, this type of
verbal assault against oneself rarely results in a positive
outcome. A more likely outcome from harsh self-criticism is
depression and an even worse sense of self-esteem.

All of this isn't to say that a person should lose weight
to appease someone else, or so that they'll be more
acceptable to society. Weight loss should come about
because an individual wants to do it first and foremost for
him or herself. This sort of inner motivation is motivation
that will last.

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Zinn Jeremiah is a freelance author. Find help for weight
loss by visiting http://www.hubonline.biz/get-fit.htm or
http://www.hubonline.biz/lose-now.htm .