Overweight, obesity, and their relationship with self-concept in young people

Abstract

According to the WHO (2024), overweight is a condition characterized by excessive fat accumulation, and obesity is a complex chronic disease defined by excessive fat accumulation that can be harmful to health. On the other hand, self-concept is a variable that includes the dimension of personal well-being and the set of three factors of attitudes in reference to the self: thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, where one’s perception of oneself in terms of aspects such as physical appearance or physical ability takes on importance, since the relationship between low physical self-concept and overweight/obesity has been studied. A systematic review of the literature on articles on overweight, obesity, and self-concept was conducted using different databases. The aim was to understand how overweight and obesity are related to self-concept in young people, as well as the dimensions of self-concept that are affected by being overweight or obese, through a search of the literature. From the studies reviewed, relevant information was extracted on body mass index, which is negatively related to physical self-concept and social self-concept mainly, which influences how young Mexicans perceive themselves.