Comparing trait-state anxiety as well as positive and negative affect among obese and normal women (Ahvaz city, Iran, 2017)

Background: Obesity leads to a wide range of problems. Hence, this research was conducted to compare the trait-state anxiety as well as positive and negative affect in obese and normal women. Materials and Methods: This descriptive study was performed in eight sports clubs within the time period of 2017 to 2018 in Ahvaz. To do this, a sample of 200 women, who referred to sports clubs was selected by the convenience sampling method. The tools included the positive and negative affect scale and the Spielberg’s state-trait anxiety inventory. The data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 23), the multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), and the Pearson's correlation coefficient. Results: According to the results, the multivariate analysis of variance at the level of P<0.001 showed that there was a significant difference between the mean scores of the obese and normal women. The difference was in terms of trait anxiety (normal, 39.27±9.23; obese, 46.73±8.73), state anxiety (normal, 38.20±8.62; obese, 47.07±8.01), positive affect (normal, 42.15±6.12; obese, 38.40±7.69), and negative affect (normal, 23.35±5.98; obese, 30.12±7.04). Conclusion: In this study, the data analysis showed that negative affect and positive affect were different in the two groups. Moreover, the obese women had a higher negative attitude than the normal women. In addition, the results demonstrated that trait-state anxiety was different in obese and normal individuals. Our results indicate that obese people are more anxious than normal people.