Type D personality in obese patients, including selected aspects of body image

Introduction and Objective.Obesity is a disease that develops due to the occurrence or co-occurrence of various factors.So far, it has not been possible to link a selected personality type to obesity, but many of the traits observed in obese people are reflected in the type D personality.Understanding a patients personality type or selected traits of this personality, allow improvement of the psychological functioning of the patient in the disease.This is particularly important in the case of chronic diseases, to which obesity belongs.The aim of the study was to determine the prevalence of type D personality among obese patients.There was also an attempt to assess the relationship between body perception and the occurrence of stress personality among obese people.Materials and method.The study group consisted of 443 patients with BMI 30 kg/m2, hospitalized in selected hospital facilities in the Silesia Province inj south-west Poland.The following research tools were used: the author's questionnaire, Type D Scale-14 (DS14), and the Body Image Questionnaire (KWCO-40).Results.The prevalence of type D personality among obese patients was almost 40%.The actual prevalence of type D personality among obese patients was within 95% CI: (33.6% -42.6%), while non-type D personality was within 95% CI: (28.3% -37.1%), and intermediate personality within 95% CI: (24.8% -33.3%).The most dissatisfaction with body image was found among respondents with type D personality, women, and those with Class III obesity.Conclusions.Understanding and identifying the factors that influence the increasing problem of obesity is difficult, but based on the present study, the assumption is made that personality type may play a role in the development of this disorder.