The unhappy obese child.
OBJECTIVE
One of the most painful aspects of obesity may be the emotional suffering it causes. The paper discusses the psychological and social effects of obesity.


METHODS
Current studies examining the psychosocial strains of obese children and adolescents are reported. The report especially focuses on stigmatization, mental health disorders, school performance and health-related quality of life.


CONCLUSIONS
Research is showing that obesity is associated with poorer psychosocial functioning even compared with other chronic diseases. Future studies should further explicate the risk and protective factors for developing severe psychosocial strain.
Warschburger
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University of Potsdam, Counselling Psychology, Postfach 60 15 53, 14415 Potsdam, Germany. warschb@rz.uni-potsdam.de
D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012931:Social Environment