the cat is in the hat waiting for their eggs to green

Summary of the Study

This research was carried in Nigeria in order to determine the relationship between obesity and anxiety in different cultures. The study aimed to prove the existence of jolly fat hypothesis by finding out if body waited contributed to anxiety. The research thus involved 1584 yo

ung adult population who were mainly undergraduates from the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture. The sample population consisted of 56.4% males and 43.6% females of the ages between 19.7 and 24 years old. In order to ensure accuracy in the study by eliminating other intervening factors; the study did not involve pregnant women or people who were showed overt signs of illness or were presently using any kind of medication.

The study employed scientific methods in sassing anxiety and obesity; the Beck's Anxiety Index (BAI) was used to assess anxiety amongst the subject while obesity was verified body mass index (BMI) and the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). The study used descriptive statistics in analyzing the obtained data, while in assessing the relationship between anxiety and obesity, regression and correlation analyses were used in the cases of continuous variables and Chi square tests applied in the cases of categorical variables. The study findings indicated that the degree of adiposity of the participants (both males and females) as classified by the percentage BF standards had no significant effect on the participants who reported anxiety. The study also found out that the percentage of population of the participants who showed high anxiety was similar for both sexes irrespective of individual BMI status and that all the male obese recorded low anxiety level while the stress levels amongst the population of thin females was notably higher as compared to their normal weight counterparts.

The study thus revealed that there was neither a notable link nor a considerable association between the BAI scores and the adiposity measures studied in both male and female participants. In the end, the study concluded that the low incidence of both obesity and anxiety in the studied young adult population of Nigeria may clarify the experimental results that showed lack of association between the studied variables. The findings from the study thus do not hold up the “jolly fat” hypothesis.

Summary and Interpretation of the Data

The study involved participants who were aged between 19 and 24 since the target population was the young adults; this group therefore appropriately fitted the criteria. The study reported continuous data as means ± standard deviations, while the categorical data were presented as percentages. The study classified weight BMI status below 18.5 as thin, above 18.5 but below 24.9 as normal, a BMI above 25 as overweight and above 30 as obese. In classifying adiposity level amongst the females, a %BF below 25.4 was considered low, a %BF equal to or above 25.4 but less than 31.9 as normal, a fat body %BF equal to or above 32.0 but less than 37.0 as overweight, and a %BF equal to or above 37.1 as obese.

For the male participants, a %BF below 12.7 was classified low while a %BF above or equal to 12.7 as normal and the overweight to be greater than or equal to %BF 21.7 but less than or equal to 28.2. Participants who recorded a %BF above 28.3, on the other hand were classified as obese. The study used the values for black subjects for majority of the participants were of African origin. In measuring the anxiety levels, the participants who recorded scores between 0 and 21 were classified to have low anxiety; those who recorded scores between 22 and 35 were considered to have moderate anxiety while those who recorded above or equal to 36 were considered to have high anxiety levels.

Results Analysis

The study results showed that the mean %BF values for males were highest amongst the people with the low anxiety of 20.2 ± 7.9% but were found to be lowest amongst the people with high anxiety (18.9 ± 7.4%). For the females, the values were found to be the highest in the high anxiety level of 28.7 ± 4.8%. The study recorded the lowest %BF amongst the people with low anxiety level of 28.1 ± 6.3%. It was also recorded that there was no big statistical differences between the mean %BF values of participants in the low anxiety category and those participants that were in the moderate or high anxiety categories. This remained true for both sexes thereby proving that %BF values were not influenced by gender, (Hogstrom, 2012) The mean BMI values of the subjects were also largely within the normal range.

On the BMI scores, the results of the study showed that male participants in the moderate anxiety group recorded the highest mean BMI which was in the range of 25.3 ± 8.5 kgm−2. This is an indication that anxiety is not directly related to BMI scores for otherwise the highest anxiety group would have recorder the highest BMI mean; this findings are almost similar with the findings of ‘a study of correlation of anxiety levels with body mass index in new MBBS students’ which recorded only significant connection between BMI scores and anxiety levels in male hostellers, (Bassi, Sharma & Kaur, 2014).

Contrastingly, the female result showed that the high anxiety group is the one that recorded the highest mean BMI of 23.7 ± 2.6 kgm−2); this signifies that BMI scores directly influence anxiety amongst the females unlike in males; this is true owing to the fact that women strive to achieve lean body and stressful conditions have been found to put women in the risk of gaining weight. In a study conducted researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and the University of Pittsburgh, it was found that stress has the potential of causing weight gain amongst the women, (Booker, 2005). The study results showed that almost 90% of the participants recorded low degree of anxiety with only 1.5% recording high anxiety and 8.7% recording moderate anxiety. The results of the study also note that there were no considerable differences between the mean BMI values of the subjects with low anxiety in both sexes and their correspondents with moderate or high anxiety. This therefore ruled out any association of anxiety and BMI values for a person can have a high BMI value and yet experience no anxiety and another one with low BMI values can experience anxiety and vice versa.

Findings Explanation and Implication

The study found out that there was no significant correlation or any considerable association between the studied measures of adiposity in both female and male participants of the study and the BAI scores. This means that anxiety levels are not directly related with obesity in amongst the Nigerian population; it is therefore possible to find an obese showing signs of anxiety and in some cases, a person who is not obese can still be found to record high levels of anxiety. These findings are significantly different with those of the studies that were done in the developed nations or parts of the world where the obese experience some form of stigma; in Nigeria and mainly rural areas, obesity is viewed as a sign of wealth and good health.

People with big bodies are perceived to be eating well and general are doing well financially; these perceptions thus make people to feel good with their big bodies thereby eliminating any form of anxiety or stress. This is even still common in urban areas of Nigeria where people would prefer to have moderately big bodies instead of lean ones; it is therefore common to find people striving to gain considerable weight in order to avoid being slim. Based on the study it is likely to find the obese in Nigeria not suffering from any form of anxiety for obesity attract positive perception.

Critique of the Research Methods Critique

Generally the study used the appropriate research methods in carrying out this study; the applications of the bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) and body mass index (BMI) methods to determine obesity and the Beck's Anxiety Index (BAI to measure anxiety was valid for they are the standard measures for the aspects that were studied. The findings of the study are also classified as valid and accurate for the study employed standard scientific methods in analyzing the data; regression analysis and correlation analysis was applied in the cases of continuous variables) while the Chi square tests in the cases of for categorical variables in assessing the relationship between anxiety and obesity. These methods are most standard and scientific; they have high rate of accuracy thereby validating the findings of the study. However; the study should have picked participants from various parts of the country instead of picking all the participants for the same area (students of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture). This compromises the representativeness of the results as it may not reflect the actual situations from other parts of Nigeria.

Suggestion of Further Research

This study mainly explored the elements of obesity and anxiety amongst the young adults between the ages of 19 and 24; further research should be done to find out how these elements relate amongst the older adults.

References

Bassi, R., Sharma, S. & Kaur, M. (2014) A study of correlation of anxiety levels with body mass index in new MBBS students.National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology, 4 (3), 208-212. doi:10.5455/njppp.2014.4.080420142

Booker S., (2005). Can Stress cause women to gain weight. Jet Magazine

Ejike, C. E. (2013). Association between anxiety and obesity: A study of a young-adult Nigerian population. Journal of Neurosciences in Rural Practice,4(Suppl 1), S13–S18. http://doi.org/10.4103/0976-3147.116429

Hogstrom GM et al (2012). Body composition and performance: influence of sport and gender among adolescents. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research