Why Low Self-Esteem Makes it Even Harder to Tackle a Weight Problem

Have you ever watched a documentary following the lives of a number of morbidly obese individuals and wondered how on earth did they let themselves get into such a state? You may think that it could never happen to you, but the chances are the people in these kinds of documentary also never considered that they would end up as dangerously heavy as they are. The trouble is that being overweight can make you unhappy and have a damaging impact on your self-esteem. When you have low self-esteem you may not really care what happens to you and so why would you bother to try to change the situation?

When you have so little self-worth that you barely care whether you live or die and food is your one source of comfort, of course you're going to come to rely on it to cheer yourself up. Unfortunately, food is also a source of your problems, so that you end up caught in a vicious cycle. You're desperately unhappy about being overweight, but eating food gives you a temporary release from the pain and frustration you feel. Even on those days when you feel like doing something positive to tackle your weight, you are soon overwhelmed by the task ahead and your inclination is probably to just give up.

Clearly, if you do not make an effort to address your eating habits, the chances are you will continue to gain weight and whilst you may not be able to fully enjoy life as an overweight individual, it will be much worse if you become so heavy that you are unable to leave the house. Although it can be tough to be an overweight person when you have to face abuse from the general public, discrimination in the workplace, and difficulty doing things that slimmer people take for granted, at least you can still play a role in society.

If you end up stuck in bed all day, every day, with nobody to talk to and nothing to do, how else are you going to spend your time? When you've given up caring what you look like, since you can't find clothes that fit and you barely leave the house anyway, what difference does it make if you keep on gaining weight? Eating food gives you a pleasurable sensation and you don't have to worry about being judged when you're stuck indoors. This can hardly be considered a life, though, when your whole day consists of sitting around, watching television and eating.

When you have low self-esteem, you are used to being taunted and humiliated about your weight and instead of fending off other people's attacks, you are often your own worst enemy, criticising everything you do yourself and internalising everyone else's negative comments. You know you're overweight and that, in theory, you can do something about it, but your lack of self-confidence makes it difficult for you to accept that you can really take control of your own weight.

It is possible for you to take control, though, and it is better to start sooner rather than later. If you find yourself extremely overweight it isn't only your emotional health that suffers, as eventually being too heavy for your frame will take its toll on your physical health, as well. This is something which you need to be concerned about – if not for your sake, then at least for the sake of those who care about you.

Why Being Overweight Can Raise Self-Esteem Issues

Self-esteem is important because it is how you feel about yourself that affects your well-being and the ways in which you interact with other people. Unfortunately, your self-esteem can take a battering when you’re overweight because there are many people who believe that being overweight makes you a target for abuse. If you were overweight as a child, the bullying and taunts often start from there, and so you grow up not liking the way you look and obsessing about your weight. It doesn’t stop when you grow up, either, though, and so you continue to be negative about yourself.


Being bullied as a child
With a significant proportion of the population considered to be overweight or obese, being fat is apparently becoming normalised. However, it is easy to dispute this assertion when so many overweight children suffer at the hands of bullies. Children have a tendency to gang up on anyone who is perceived to have a ‘weakness’, as it stops them from being bullied. There is no consideration of how overweight children actually feel inside or the implications of such abuse for individuals’ self-esteem as they get older.

Living in a fat-phobic society
Obesity is one of the most pressing public health issues throughout the developed world and so media coverage of the issue of obesity and of obese individuals tends to be negative. On the one hand, fat people are portrayed as posing a threat to society because they are costing the economy billions, while on the other hand they are generally seen as figures of fun, often being poked fun at because of their weight. When you’re overweight and confronted with the idea that obesity is completely bad, it’s no wonder if your self-esteem suffers and you become even more self-critical.

Images of impossibly thin people
Alongside the negative associations with obesity, overweight individuals have to contend with attractive, slim individuals on their television screens and in magazines. Every inch a model or actor gains or loses is documented and ordinary men and women find themselves comparing their bodies to those of individuals who are paid to keep in shape and look good. They beat themselves up for failing to be perfect, even though there is no such thing and, unsurprisingly, their constant exposure to such images does their self-esteem no favours.

Conclusion
It is evident that being overweight can definitely raise self-esteem issues for people when this is a society that is preoccupied with the issue of weight. Unfortunately, when you suffer from low self-esteem it seems to make tackling your weight even harder to do because you don’t believe in yourself enough to bother trying to do anything about it.