LEVEL OF ANXIETY OF YOUNG WOMEN WITH DIFFERENT BODY WEIGHT

Abstract

Background. One of the basic characteristics of the emotional sphere of a person is the level of anxiety. Disturbances of psycho-emotional state are regarded as predictors of overweight and obesity. At the same time, excessive accumulation of fat mass has an unfavorable effect on the psychosomatic status of patients. Purpose. To evaluate the level of situational and personal anxiety of young women 17-25 years old with different body weight. Materials and methods. 276 young women aged from 17 to 25 years were examined and divided into 3 groups. The first group included young women with body weight deficit, the second group included young women with normal body weight, and the third group included young women with excessive body weight and obesity. Body weight was estimated by the value of the ratio of body weight to the square of body length. The Spielberger-Hanin test was used to assess the level of anxiety. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association. Statistical analysis was performed using the application package Statistica 10.0 and Microsoft Excel 2010. Results. Deviations of body weight from normal values were revealed in 31.2% of girls. A low level of personal anxiety was characteristic of 2.9% of respondents, and a high level - of 52.2%. The median of personal anxiety in the group with normal body weight was assessed as moderate, girls with deficit and excess body weight - as high. The prevalence of a high level of situational anxiety was significantly higher in the underweight and overweight groups. Conclusion. A high level of situational anxiety of young women is associated with overweight and obesity.

Keywords

• overweight
• obesity
• body weight deficit
• personal anxiety
• situational anxiety
• young women