Quality of Life and Social Stigma among Obese University Students

Malek Y. Alkhutaba and Zahria I. Abdelihaq

Background and Objective: Obesity is one of the most important reasons for reduced life expectancy in the world and this problem has become more salient in modern societies with adverse effects on physical and psychological health. This study attempts to widen our understanding on how quality of life (QoL) and social stigma interact with other variables like gender and academic field to affect obese university students. Materials and Methods: The study employed a descriptive-analytic study design which enrolled 84 students (40 males and 44 females) from 4 private universities in Jordan. Each participant weighs at least 100 kg and hence he/she can be labelled as overweight. QoL was measured through quality of life scale, while social stigma was measured by using stigma scale. Results: Results detected low QoL and high stigma levels for obese university students. Time management was the only aspect of QoL to predict stigma. The findings further revealed statistical differences between QoL and stigma in favour of high QoL and low stigma. Conclusion: It was concluded that QoL and stigma have a complex relationship which was mediated by other variables. It was further found that having a low QoL would mean having high stigma.

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