Body Image & Mental Health

Body image and mental health intersect obesity care throughout treatment with persistent stigma considerations. The session covers weight stigma in healthcare (the 2024 STRIDE study), body image after weight loss including excess skin and reconstructive surgery, depression and obesity bidirectionality, GLP-1 mental-health signal monitoring, body-image-focused therapy, and internalised weight bias measurement (WBIS-2F). Discussion addresses the 'former-fat-person' identity post-bariatric, eating disorder risk after rapid weight loss, the comparison of body-image outcomes across treatment modalities, the role of group therapy and peer support, and the integration of mental-health screening in routine obesity care.