Obesity and exercise habit on self-concept of male and female adults

Pages: 1131-1135
Mahuya Bhattacharyya, Ankita Ghosh, and Subrata Dasgupta (Department of Applied Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal)

India, at present is witnessing galloping levels of obesity in the population, thereby making the study of its consequences especially urgent. Accordingly, the present study intended to measure the effect of body weight and exercise habit on self-concept of male and female adults. The sample consisted of 480 individuals (240 males & 240 females). These individuals were again subdivided into twelve subgroups according to their body weight (BMI normal weight, overweight and obese) and exercise habit (no exercise & regular exercise). A detailed Information Schedule, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28; Adapted) by Basu and Dasgupta (1996) and Self-Concept Inventory (Adults) by Shah (1986) were administered on the subjects individually. The results revealed that both body weight and exercise habit had a significant effect on different domains of self-concept.