The research was conducted at the Kansai Medical University Hospital (Japan) over 101 obese patients. Were subjected for 6 months in a therapy combining weight-loss advice, diet and exercise. We conducted a psychosocial profile of the same before and after therapy.

This research, led by Hitomi Saito, has been published in Biopsychosocial Medicine. One of his conclusions was that patients had a higher level of self-orientation and optimism lost less weight than the rest. By contrast, those who could improve their self-awareness through counseling lost weight more easily. These results reinforce findings from previous research indicating that certain negative emotions allow a change of behavior easier to therapy.

It seems that if one is more pessimistic is more worried about the disease and is more permeable to the advice and guidance of professionals, which is not without its logic. Similarly, a higher self-esteem or have a higher opinion of ourselves we would be more reluctant to change or accept and follow certain guidelines from the experts, in this case in terms of weight loss.

It also seems logical. These findings, however, should not be understood as an additional complication, if optimists are overweight or obese. Rather, they should make us more aware that our optimism and / or high self-esteem should not blind us to accept when we have something to improve, and that, for this, we meet and follow the guidelines from the experts.

However, another conclusion of the study is that these characteristics (optimism, self-esteem …) than before treatment could hinder weight loss, develop and increase during therapy. But in this case, serve to maintain and establish the objectives achieved.