ASSESSMENT OF BODY-IMAGE DISSATISFACTION IN OBESE WOMEN - SPECIFICITY, SEVERITY, AND CLINICAL-SIGNIFICANCE

This;study assessed the specificity, severity, and clinical significan ce Of body image dissatisfaction in 79 obese women using the Body Dysm orphic Disorder Examination-Self-Report (J. C. Rosen & J. Reiter, 1996 ). The vast majority of obese women demonstrated body image dissatisfa ction related to their obesity, with almost half reporting the greates t dissatisfaction with their waist or abdomen. On average; they report ed significantly more body image dissatisfaction than did 43 nonobese controls. The 2 groups,aid not differ on self-reported symptoms of dep ression or self-esteem. Body image dissatisfaction correlated signific antly with reports of depressive symptoms and lower self-esteem but wa s not correlated with body mass index. Results are discussed in terms of the role of body image dissatisfaction in understanding and treatin g obese individuals.