Changes in Self-esteem in Participants Associated with Weight-loss and Maintenance of Commercial Weight Management Programme

versa [1]. High BMIs tend to be related to lower self-esteem in both adults and children as reported in many [2-6], but not in all studies [7-9]. The relationship between body weight and selfesteem is often moderated by culture, gender, age and ethnicity [1]. The relationship is mediated by a number of factors such as cultural norms [10], number of previous dieting attempts [11], intimate relationships [12], depression [13] and the degree of stigma that overweight people experience. Body weight is related to perceptions of body image and body dissatisfaction [7,14-16], whether those perceptions are directly related to weight or not [17]. In modern society, women tend to perceive themselves as more overweight and aspire to be leaner than they are, whereas men do not perceive themselves as overweight or obese [1]. This over-evaluation of body shape in women may well be influenced by self-criticism [3].