The effects of obesity on the life activity and self-esteem of the elderly

Szkutnicka Ewelina, Samardakiewicz Marzena, Barańska Agnieszka, Sokołowska Anna, Firlej Ewelina, Szkutnicki Hubert. The effects of obesity on the life activity and self-esteem of the elderly. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2018;8(4):11-19. eISNN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1213295 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/5396 https://pbn.nauka.gov.pl/sedno-webapp/works/862161 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part b item 1223 (26/01/2017). 1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eissn 2391-8306 7 © The Authors 2018; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license (Http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 05.03.2018. Revised: 10.03.2018. Accepted: 05.04.2018. The effects of obesity on the life activity and self-esteem of the elderly Ewelina Szkutnicka1, Marzena Samardakiewicz2, Agnieszka Barańska3, Anna Sokołowska4, Ewelina Firlej5 Hubert Szkutnicki6 1 Powiatowe Centrum Zdrowia w Opolu Lubelskim/ District Health Center in Opole Lubelskie 2 Zakład Psychologii Stosowanej, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie/ Department of Applied Psychology, Medical University of Lublin 3 Zakład Informatyki i Statystyki Medycznej z Pracownią Zdalnego Nauczania, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie/ Department of Medical Informatics and Statistics with E-learning Lab, Medical University of Lublin 4 Pracownia Kosmetologii i Medycyny Estetycznej, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie/ Laboratory of Cosmetology and Aesthetic Medicine, Medical University of Lublin 5 Katedra Zdrowia Publicznego, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie/ Department of Public Health, Medical University of Lublin 6 Student V roku kierunku lekarsko-dentystycznego, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie, A fifth-year student of the Medical and Dental field, Medical University of Lublin Introduction. Metabolic disorders, the coexistence of many diseases, lack of physical activity, bad nutrition and low economic status are factors, which increase the risk of being overweight or obese. We are currently witnessing an increase in obesity along with age, which has been intensifying in recent years. Aim of the paper. The aim of the paper was to analyse the influence of overweight and obesity among the elderly on their life activity, level of self-esteem and satisfaction with life. Material and methods. The research was carried out on October 2017 in Opole Lubelskie (in Lubelskie Province). The study group consisted of 50 people aged over 65. The selection criteria for respondents were age (> 65) and BMI (>25). A specially prepared questionnaire was used for the research. The BMI of the respondents was calculated from measures of their height and body mass. Results. The BMI calculated confirmed class I obesity among 28.57% of women and 18.19% of men, class II obesity in 39.29% of women and 36.36% of men and class III obesity in 32.14% of women and 45.45% of men (Graph 1). 78% of respondents assessed their lifestyle as not very active. A whole 92% are not satisfied with their appearance. All those surveyed believe they are perceived badly by other people. Conclusions. Obesity has a major influence on the quality of life of people of advanced age. Excessive body mass has a detrimental effect on self-esteem and can lead to the elderly withdrawing from social life. Key words: obesity, elderly, self-esteem, life satisfaction