Mustajoki P
Third Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.
Ann Clin Res. 1987;19(2):143-6.
Obese people as a group have similar mental health as normal weight people, and there are no psychiatric features characteristic of obesity in general. However, small subgroups of obese individuals may have psychiatric abnormalities which are specific for obesity, such as body image disturbance or periodic compulsive overeating (bulimia). Obesity is strongly related to sociocultural factors. In western countries obesity is commoner in lower than in higher social classes. Thus, the development of obesity is influenced by social status. However, also the converse is true: recent observations suggest that obese people lose social status. This is probably due to prejudice and discrimination against obese persons in the modern western society.
总体而言，肥胖人群的心理健康状况与正常体重人群相似，一般不存在肥胖特有的精神症状。然而，一小部分肥胖个体可能存在与肥胖相关的精神异常，如身体形象障碍或周期性强迫性暴饮暴食（贪食症）。肥胖与社会文化因素密切相关。在西方国家，社会阶层较低者比社会阶层较高者更易肥胖。因此，肥胖的发生受社会地位的影响。然而，反之亦然：最近的观察表明，肥胖者社会地位下降。这可能是由于现代西方社会对肥胖者的偏见和歧视所致。
