The role of possessing an abnormal body weight in the body image alterations of obese patients was evaluated in bariatric surgery subjects prior to and at long term after operation, when body weight and shape had become steadily normalized. Body image was assessed by the body dissatisfaction scale of the Eating Disorders Inventory, the Body Shape Questionnaire, and the Body Attitude Questionnaire. When the individuals were obese, a sharply impaired body image was observed; following operation, weight loss corresponded to normalization of body dissatisfaction, feeling of fatness, and physical attractiveness, whereas body disparagement and salience of shape, although improved in comparison to preoperative data, remained significantly different from that of controls. In the obese patients, some aspects of body image alterations are substantially accounted for by overweight status; other aspects reflect inner feelings, which are partially independent of the actual body weight and shape. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.
