Perception of Body Shape among Obese Women in Gaza Strip

Obesity is a public health problem worldwide.This book aimed to examine the perception of obese women about their body-shape. The study sample consisted of 260 participants (130 women who are overweight or obese with BMI > 30 and 130 women with optimal weight after engagement in regime program). The results showed that the perception toward body-shape was above moderate for obese women with mean score 3.47 and weighted percentage 69.4% while the mean score was 2.94 and weighted percentage 58.8% for women with optimal body weight after dietary regime program. Women who has optimal body weight had better perception toward their body-shape compared to obese women. There were insignificant differences in perception toward body-shape related to age marital status work status. The study concluded that being obese reflected negative psychological feelings and behaviors and poor image toward body-shape among obese women and avoiding participation in social activities.