LITERATURE REVIEW

Since the 1990s, obesity was never the ideal. Obesity—being over 30 percent above the ideal body
weight—was never the standard of attractiveness and charm (JAMA, 1999). According to Sutin
(2013), “"People often rationalize that it's OK to discriminate based on weight because it will motivate
the victim to lose pounds, but our findings suggest the opposite.” Angela Sutin, a psychologist at
Florida State College of Medicine in Tallahassee, conducted a study on the many forms of
discrimination faced by obese people on a daily basis. Sutin and a colleague analyzed survey data
from over 6,000 American men and women aged 50 and above, who were asked how often they
faced various forms of prejudice in their everyday lives. Discourteousness or denial of restaurant
service were examples, as was not receiving a job or promotion. Overweight persons who claimed
they'd been discriminated against because of their weight were more than twice as likely to be obese
four years later as those who didn't say they'd been discriminated against because of their weight.
Those who were obese at the start were three times more likely to stay that way if they had been
singled out for their weight. Discrimination of other kinds had no influence on weight. With this
information, we can plainly see that obesity was a problem that was not effectively handled, which is
why it has persisted to this day.
Appearance and Judgements (What their role is in the society)
; Cooley’s theory
Not everyone can be lovely, at least not according to some arbitrary measure of physical
attractiveness. Some of us are short or tall, stocky or lanky, with bushy brows, a large nose, crooked
teeth, or a tumor on our face (Gonchar 2015). In fact, by today's standards, several of us would be
called unattractive. But does it really matter? A person's behavior and self-esteem are influenced by
their expectations of how others will regard them. A person's behavior and self-esteem are influenced
by their expectations of how others will regard them. When it comes to understanding ourselves,
social interaction plays a more important role than many of us realize. Individuals create their idea of
self by seeing how they are seen by others, according to sociologist Charles Horton Cooley, who
developed the term "looking-glass self." The mechanism through which people build their sense of
self on how they feel others see them is known as the looking-glass self. People utilize social contact
as a kind of "mirror," measuring their own worth, beliefs, and conduct based on the judgements they
get from others (Charles Horton Cooley: Looking Glass Self and the Effect of Primary Groups, 2013).
Cooley (1922) described the process of discovering the looking-glass self occurs in three steps: *In a
social context, a person imagines how they look to others. * That person imagines how others will
react to their look. * The individual experiences sensations and reacts to the perceived judgements.
The context of each contact, as well as the type of the persons involved, add to the complexity of the
looking-glass self-process. People may take replies from friends and family members more seriously
than responses from strangers. It's possible that signals will be misunderstood. When considering any
changes in their behavior or self-perception, people frequently examine their own value systems. This
theory corresponds strongly with obese people, according to my research. Obese individuals are
already uneasy about themselves; criticizing them will only exacerbate their condition and feelings.
Obesity
The link between psychological disorders and obesity has also been studied. Obesity, according to
certain studies, does not necessarily have a detrimental influence on a person's mental health
(Rogers and Parslow 2003). However, a number of studies have suggested that being obese might
be detrimental, with an emphasis on stress. Some studies have looked at the levels of sadness in
people who are waiting for treatment to address their obesity, and they consistently reveal that these
people have higher depressed symptoms than those of ordinary weight (Engels 1983 and Wadden
2006). Obesity, according to research, affects not just people's physical health but also their mental
health. Depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction all have a role, according to
studies. Appearance evaluations refer to the positive-to-negative appraisals of and beliefs about one's
appearance (Cash, 2012), such as satisfaction or dissatisfaction with appearance. Body image issues
are linked to a variety of mental illnesses. As an example, this cross-sectional study about Body
Dissatisfaction, Importance of Appearance, and Body Appreciation was conducted to explore different
aspects of body image in general population. Many people are concerned about one or more bodily
parts. A poor cognitive assessment of one's physique might reflect a bad body image (Hartman
2019). Body image is a multidimensional construct that includes a behavioral component involving
body-related behaviors (e.g. checking behaviors), a perceptual component involving the perception of
body characteristics (e.g. estimation of one's body size or weight), and a cognitive-affective
component involving cognitions, attitudes, and feelings about one's body (Cash 2004, Thompson
1999 and Tuschen-Caffier 1999). Weight bias has been afflicting the obese population. When people
see an overweight person in modern age, they automatically believe they're disgusting and horrible.
They instantly think they're unhealthy, which may or may not be accurate. In any case, judging is
never a nice thing, especially when it is done with malicious purpose. Judging will certainly harm
one's feelings, which might lead to something worse.
The mediating role of appearance evaluation
To further understand the relationship of obesity and depressive symptoms, I will explain the
connections of the Cooley theory to the mediating role of appearance evaluation. While society has
continued to grow and change at an even faster rate since Cooley's time, many of the societal issues
he was worried about still exist today. However, because to Cooley's study, we now have a greater
understanding of the value of social unity and the impact of society on people. Cooley discovered that
as a civilization progressed, people grew more individualistic. He saw the disintegration of societal
cohesiveness and the collapse of conventional family values. He was persuaded that tiny, intimate
groups impacted conduct the most, and that when these core groupings broke down, human behavior
broke down as well. According to Cooley, people nowadays have chosen to be apart from each other.
He explained that people wanted to bring other people down instead of helping them rise up. This is
where appearance evaluation comes. As mentioned earlier, appearance evaluation is either a
positive or negative judgement about one’s appearance. Obese people face increased prejudice and
stigma as a result of their looks, as we have discussed. They receive a great deal of criticism just
because of their weight, and as a result, they overthink and have negative thoughts about
themselves. These are the consequences of overweight individuals being judged on their looks. Yes,
people have become more individualistic since they appear to care more about how you look than
who you are. It’s as though obese people are reflecting back to themselves the bad feedback they
get. As a result, they strive to alter themselves by sabotaging their minds with harmful notions.
Because that’s what they want, to be accepted and to attain the beauty everyone is expecting. They
fall down anew as a result of their struggles and efforts whenever they fail to meet the unachievable
expectations that everyone has. If they continue to appear ‘big' in the eyes of others, no matter how
hard they try, they will envision yet another judgment that others will make about them. In conclusion,
just by judging someone’s appearance can make them anxious and depressed deep inside.
According to ‘Cooley’s “Looking glass self” theory, in the end, the looking-glass self is a process of
alignment. People try for consistency between their internal and exterior environments all of their
lives, and as a result, they continue to perceive, adapt, and strive for balance throughout their lives.
Obesity is frequently linked to emotional problems including unhappiness, anxiety, and depression.
Obese persons had a 55 percent higher chance of getting depression over the course of their lives
than non-obese people, according to a 2010 research. Obesity, especially in the absence of other
health concerns, promotes depression, according to a recent study from the University of South
Australia and the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. More than 48,000 patients with
depression and a control group of more than 290,000 adults born between 1938 and 1971 were
involved in the study, which was published in the International Journal of Epidemiology. This simply
implies that negative body image leads to overthinking and dissatisfaction.
"If someone's mean to you at the gym because of your weight or acts like you don't belong there,"
Sutin (2013) stated, "you're less likely to go back." Obesity has many causes, including genetics and
other factors that go far beyond individual choice. "It's a wonderful thing to try to promote healthy
behaviors," she adds, but shaming someone isn't part of the solution. Unfortunately, prejudice and
discrimination based on weight continue in many areas, and it is only becoming worse among
employers, teachers, and physicians. Obese people are dissatisfied and sad because of the
judgments and bad views they receive from others. If you're attempting to improve someone's life,
even if it's already good, you should do it in a modest and pleasant manner rather than with insults
and bad remarks, because anything unpleasant never leads to something beneficial.