Unhealthy environments and their relationship to obesity and overweight

Abstract

Currently, obesity has become one of the major health problems affecting both adult and child population around the world, which has led to work harder for the prevention and treatment of both overweight and obesity. The role of psychologists in the intervention of obesity has traditionally been the treatment of comorbid psychological disorders, among them the intervention in self-esteem problems, the management of emotions, especially in situations that are related to emotions classified as negative and that can cause emotional stress. This paper reviews the brief history of the psychological approach to obesity, analyzes the empirical evidence supporting the different treatment programs, compiles the typical components of the cognitive-behavioral approaches, including several intervention protocols and highlights the challenges that still remain for psychology in the intervention of this disease. For this purpose, an opinion questionnaire was administered to 170 adults through digital means. The unhealthy environments mentioned here are part of an everyday urban life, which is why this condition is increasingly affecting a greater number of people at any stage of their development.