Post-Bariatric surgery patients fail to exercise consistently: exploring the potential role of self-compassion

<p>Many bariatric weight loss surgery patients do not exercise after surgery. One potential reason this population may not exercise is due to body image shame and low self-compassion, which can contribute to lower appreciation for one’s body. Adult participants from an international bariatric population sample (N = 805) and an Eastern Washington University undergraduate student sample (N = 104) completed a one-time online questionnaire that included measures of self-compassion, physical activity frequency, body appreciation, and body image shame. In the bariatric sample, self-compassion was indirectly associated with exercise frequency via body appreciation and body image shame. Additionally, at the highest levels of self-compassion, exercise frequency was negatively impacted by the highest levels of body image shame. These results were not found in the undergraduate sample. Moving forward, interventions targeting self-compassion, body appreciation, and body image shame may help support members of the bariatric surgery population’s physical activity efforts.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS) in Psychology: General/Experimental

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year

2021

Author dc:creator

• Teeter, Naomi

• Experimental Analysis of Behavior
• Health Psychology

Statement dc:rights

• Access is available to all users

Repository record dc:identifier

https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/710

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dc.ewu.edu:theses-1711