ABSTRACT
This chapter considers some of the developments in self-esteem research. It argues that there is variability in the relationship between child obesity and self-esteem. There is a burgeoning interest in psychosocial issues related to child obesity. It is likely that this stems from the well-publicized impact of obesity on physical health, the need to implement preventative actions, and the identification of childhood as a place to start. The chapter also considers how obese children view themselves and in what ways this differs from nonobese children. The representation of self-esteem as the ratio of a person’s successes to their pretensions has been attributed to William James. Social interaction is a key to self-perception. For younger children, their weight has little impact on their perceived or actual friendship status. Attention will be given to aspects of their social world and whether achieving weight loss has an impact on their social and self-perception.
