Alexithymia in obese patients

Agnieszka Żak-Gołąb; Radosław Tomaski; Magdalena Olszanecka-Glinianowicz; Jerzy Chudek

Vol 8, No 4 (2012)

Prace poglądowe

Published online: 2013-02-08

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Alexithymia in obese patients

Agnieszka Żak-Gołąb, Radosław Tomaski, Magdalena Olszanecka-Glinianowicz, Jerzy Chudek

Endokrynol. Otył. Zab. Przem. Mat 2012;8(4):124-129.

Vol 8, No 4 (2012)

Prace poglądowe

Published online: 2013-02-08

Abstract

Obesity is a chronic disease that prevalence has increased significantly in recent years. Despite getting a better understanding of factors influencing the development of obesity, long-term effects of its treatment are still unsatisfactory. A significant influence on the effectiveness of the treatment of obesity may have its psychological aspects, which are often unrecognized and not considered in the treatment process. A specific psychopathological features of obesity have not been yet found. Large epidemiological studies have shown a higher incidence of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders in obese. Alexithymia is define as difficulty to identify and express emotions, paucity of fantasy life and operatory thinking. Alexithymia was initially described in patients with psychosomatic diseases, but later its’ more frequent occurrence was also found in other groups of patients with mental disorders, among them — patients with eating disorders. There are few studies which analyze the association of alexithymia and obesity, and their results are inconsistent, partially due to heterogeneity of the causes of obesity. The paper discusses the potential role of alexithymia in the development, course and treatment of obesity. Therapeutic implications of the coexistence of alexithymia and obesity were indicated.