Self‑Perceived Health and Quality of Life among Women with Obesity: A Cross‑Sectional Study

Background

Obesity is a long-term condition that has a substantial impact on one’s physical, and mental well-being. Less focus has been placed on how obesity affects women’s subjective perceptions of their own health and wellbeing, even though the clinical effects of obesity are widely known. Developing patient-centred treatment models that address the entire range of the disease’s burden requires an understanding of how obesity affects women’s self-perceived health status.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted through an online survey directed to Portuguese adults aged 18 or older. This analysis focused exclusively on female respondents. Self-reported height and weight were used to calculate BMI, with obesity characterized as BMI ≥30. Self-perceived general health, mental health, and quality of life were measured using single-item questions with five response options (“very poor” to “very good”). Mann-Whitney U tests were performed, with significance set at p < 0.05. Effect sizes were calculated as r=Z/√N.

Results

A total of 2817 women were included in this analysis. According to calculated BMI, 36.2% had obesity. Women with obesity reported significantly worse self-perceived general health (U = 435158.0, Z=−24.621, p < 0.001, r = 0.47), mental health (U = 667575.5, Z=−12.690, p < 0.001, r = 0.24), and quality of life (U = 615914.0, Z=−15.639, p < 0.001, r = 0.30) compared to women without obesity. The largest effect was observed for general health perception, followed by quality of life and mental health.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that women who have obesity consistently report worse self-perceived general and mental health, as well as quality of life. Despite the most pronounced impact being on general health, the results demonstrate that this disease has an impact that goes beyond physical health. More thorough, patient-centred methods to managing obesity may be supported by routinely assessing self-perceived health and quality of life in clinical practice.

Key messages

• Women with obesity report significantly worse self–perceived general health, mental health and quality of life, with the strongest impact observed in general health.

• Obesity affects women beyond physical symptoms; integrating self‑perceived health and quality of life into care can support more patient‑centred treatment approaches.