Self-Esteem and Weight Status of Young Adults: Findings from a Pilot Study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Researchers have examined the association between self-esteem and obesity in past studies. However, most studies have focused on pediatric or adolescent populations. In this pilot study, we aim to explore the association of self-esteem with weight status in young adults, a group of individuals in a significant and pivotal period of their lives whose needs and challenges have received little attention in previous studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Exactly 127 college juniors and seniors in the Midwest participated in late 2017. For our survey, we collected the following information: body weight, height, self-esteem score from the state self-esteem scale, grade point average, risk of eating disorders, sleep quality, nutritional behavior, lifestyle (smoking, frequency of exercise, alcohol drinking, average daily time watching television, playing video games, and social media use), and demographic and socioeconomic background. We used logistic regression for our analysis. RESULTS: The logistic regression indicates that a one-point increase in the self-esteem score was negatively associated with a young adult's odds of having an unhealthy weight (being overweight or obese) by approximately 3%. Furthermore, soda drinking is a statistically significant factor associated with weight status. CONCLUSIONS: This finding suggests self-esteem is positively associated with a healthy weight in young adults. A larger-scale study should be conducted in the future to validate this relationship and better understand young adults' needs.
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For men, being underweight can conflict with cultural ideals of masculinity emphasizing muscularity and physical strength, leading to feelings of inadequacy and diminished self-esteem.
“For men, being underweight can conflict with cultural ideals of masculinity that emphasize muscularity and physical strength, leading to feelings of inadequacy and diminished self-esteem [79].”
From Body Perceptions and Psychological Well-Being: A Review of the Impact of Social Media and Physical Measurements on Self-Esteem and Mental Health with a Focus on Body Image Satisfaction and Its Relationship with Cultural and Gender Factors (2024) · cites this paper as [79]
The Introduction says that stigma associated with unhealthy weight can negatively affect self-esteem. But the Results define unhealthy weight as overweight or obese, and the paper does not address underweight men or cultural ideals of masculinity, muscularity, and strength. It also does not establish that this proposed conflict leads to diminished self-esteem. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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- Authors
- Liu, E., & Chang, S.-H.
- Affiliations
- Saint Louis University (US)
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Liu, Echu
- Venue
- Journal of Education and Health Promotion
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 263-263
- ISSN
- 2277-9531 (ISSN-L)
- 2319-6440
- PMC
- PMC9621350
- OpenAlex
- W4293231809
- Cited by
- 11
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2025: 7 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 2.43
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Journal of Education and Health Promotion (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Digital Commons@Becker (Washington University School of Medicine) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-sa)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Lifestyle Studies
- Keywords
- self-esteem, weight status, young adults, obesity, overweight, university students, soft drink consumption, eating disorders, sleep quality, nutritional behavior, lifestyle factors, social media use
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