ABSTRACT
Body weight affects people’s perception of themselves and others. While attitudes to obesity are shaped by age, gender, and cultural background, the prevailing climate in the developed world is antifat [1]. These negative attitudes lead to assumptions about the character and psychological state of people with obesity. However, the relationship between obesity and psychological well-being is neither linear nor uniform. Some children and adolescents with obesity have serious psychological problems. Others have mild problems, and some very few at all [2]. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize evidence on the core psychological well-being of an increasing section of children and youth. What does it mean to grow up and live as a young person seen and described as fat?
