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Applied Psychology, July 2014

Applied Psychology
Citation this paper:
Chaudhary N., NazS. (2014). Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General
Wellbeing among Female University Students: A Comparative Study Using Asian
BMI scores.. Applied Psychology. 8: 42-56.

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Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General Wellbeing among Female

Applied Psychology
Vol. 2(8), pp. 42-56, July 2014
http:// www. Jourpsyc.com

Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General Wellbeing among Female
University Students: A Comparative Study Using Asian BMI scores.

Nayab Chaudhary (Corresponding Authors )

Department of Behavioral Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
nayab.chaudhary911508@gmail.com
SajidaNaz
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
sajida.naz@gmail.com
Received: 9 Mar, 2014
Accepted: 19 Apr, 2014

Abstract
Objective: This study was carried out to explore implications of high and low
BMI scores on levels of life satisfaction and general wellbeing. Method: Two

detailed self-report measures, i.e., Satisfaction with Life Scale (1985) and
General Wellbeing Scale (1977) were used to measure life satisfaction and
psychological general wellbeing of the 104 female university students of
Rawalpindi, Pakistan. An individuals Body Mass Index (BMI), was
operationally defined as the proportion of weight (kg) to squared height ( ).
Results: The findings indicated a significant negative relationship (r = -.57**)
between BMI score and levels of scores on the two study variables suggesting
that high BMI is associated with low life satisfaction and wellbeing.
Conclusion: This study concludes that, there is a need to raise awareness
among students regarding weight and its hazardous physical and psychological
implications.
Keywords: Body Mass Index (BMI), Life satisfaction, Psychological wellbeing,

females, weight.

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Introduction
Obesity is an ongoing global issue, which have become a speedily growing threat to the
wellbeing of populations in an increasing number of countries, affecting 300 million people
worldwide(WHO., 2002). It is not taken seriously and is often subjected to stereotyping (Wang,
Brownell, &Wadden, 2004). It is now considered as anepidemic around the world and is a major
public health concern Worldwide. Prevalence ofpeople with weight problems in Pakistan, in
urban areas is 22% for and 37% for women in Pakistan(Aslam, Saeed, Pasha, & Altaf, 2010).
The prevalence of obesity is said to be directly associated to SES (Nanan, 2002).
Weight problems are alarmingly rising, worldwide. People with weight problems fall into two
major categories; people who are underweight and those people who are overweight or obese.
Few studies have examined the perceptions of healthy and overweight individuals(Crawford&
Campbell, 1999; Donath, 2000) and these have stated that lay views of weight and overweight
does not relate well with the health strategies. Specific regions of concern have incorporated the
lack of acknowledgment amongst overweight or obese women, that they have a weight issue, and
a high predominance of feeling 'too fat' amongst normal-weight women (Donath, 2000). In this
research, weight problems are addressed in Pakistani context, specifically with respect to obesity
are being addressed. The significance of studying obesity in Pakistani youth is focusing on
perception, attitudes and belief regarding obesity. It is a mixed method, in order to explore the
influence of weight on life satisfaction and general wellbeing measure perception, quantitative
method was used, while measuring attitudes and perceived psychological implications of obesity,
qualitative method was used.
As there is a growing concern about weight issues in Pakistan, it has more inverse implications
on females than on males, which in turn affect their quality of life and mental health (Wen &
Jone, 2012). Mostly young females in Asian countries areunaware of the physical and
psychological implications of being overweight. To help them get sensitized about this growing
issue, a need exists to explore the impact of unhealthy weight on their life satisfaction and
general well-being and the perception of young females about their weight.
There are not only the psychological consequences of being overweight, it has direct
implications on our physical health as well, such as type 2 diabetes (Brancati., Wang., Mead,
Liang, & Klag, 1999)and cardiovascular diseases(PiSunyer, 1993) and can result in premature
death(Calle, Thun, Petrelli, Rodriguez, & Heath, 1999). Especially abdominal obesity is linked
with cardiovascular disease and stroke (Suk et al., 2003). Their main concern is not simply
treating the consequences but is now moving towards prevention (James, 2008).
1.1 Causes ofoverweight or obesity
Obesity is a multifaceted disease that involves collaborations between environmental and genetic
factors. Obesity results from discrepancy between food intake and energy outflow over several
years. The genetic approach in humans has allowed enormous progress in the understanding of
body weight regulation. However, the genetictransfer ofobesity is extremely rare and generally
weight issues must be considered as a complex polygenic disease; thatcan be attributed to the
interactions between two or more genes and their environment (Clement. & Ferre, 2003). A
study in 2006 reviewed about the possiblecontributors of obesity, they found 10 contributors for
which they found support (Keith et al., 2006), these are:
Inadequate sleep.
Endocrine disruptors(pollutants that disrupts fat breakdown).

Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General Wellbeing among Female

Declined inconsistency in relative temperature.

Declined rates ofsmoking, because smoking subdues the need to eat.
Elevated use of pills that can cause weight gain (e.g., atypical antipsychotics).
Comparative increase in ethnic and age groups that tend to be heavier.
Gestation at an advanced age (which may originate vulnerability to obesity in offspring).
Genetic risk factors passed on through generations selection.
Accepted choice for higher BMI.
Assortativemating leading to increased absorption of obesity threat elements.

How people deal with Obesity in Asian Countries

It is common in Pakistan to complain about having weight problems and weight issues, but very
few people actually take steps to deal with their problematic weight problems to lose weight. In
2001 a study on body image and weight realization among South Asians, Italians and broadspectrum population women in Britain indicated thateven thoughmigratory South Asians were
less happy with their weight than migratory Italians, scarcer tried to reduce weight in the past or
had experienced extrinsic inspiration to transform their bodies(Bush, Williams, Lean, &
Anderson, 2001). Another hurdle is the beliefs one hold regarding obesity or being overweight.
Asian mass population tends to have the belief that people with larger body masses are healthier
than people with less body mass. A study suggested that Asian fitness beliefs are an essential
focus of opposition to thinness(Bush et al., 2001).
General Wellbeing
General Well-being is a state where, well-being is not measured within a specific area as
physical, psychological or social wellbeing, rather it covers all of these areas in a more general
phenomenon. Thus, in this study General Wellbeing (GWB) is defined a, an index that is used
to measure health-related quality of life(Revicki, Leidy, & Howland, 1996), that covers
dimensions of physical, psychological, and social wellbeingin a more general way(Dupuy, 1977
as cited in; McDowell, 2006).
Having weight disputes is a denounced circumstance, with abundant reports authenticating social
exclusion, educational and occupational prejudice, and prevalent manifestation of
adversebiases(Puhl & Brownell, 2001). This not only effects ones educational, occupational and
social functioning, it also affects ones mental health in far adverse ways, than are seemed to
occur apparently. The various, confrontational, societal and relationalpenalties of obesity have
steered the postulation that obese individualsdeteriorate psychologically, both as a direct
consequence of the social difficulties and incidentally through detrimental mirrored selfassessment(Cooley. & Horton, 1902).People with former inception of obesity tend to face more
Waist Size Teasing (WST) than people with subsequent onset of obesity(Jackson., Grilo.,&
Masheb., 2000). Early familiaritiesof being tormented may have uninterrupted and even
extendedeffects on consumption psychopathology (e.g., eating syndromes and body
discontentment)
andinclusive
psychosomatic
functioning
(Fabian&Thompson,
1989;K.Thompson, Coovert, Richards, Johnson, &Cattarin, 1995;Thompson&Psaltis, 1988).
Obesity appears to be related with numerous psychopathologies, especially in women that
include eating disorders, anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, sleep apnea specific
phobia etc.(Pickering et al., 2007). Researches show enough evidence that young females tend
to have more negative implications of facing weight issues, as compared to men(Han, Tijhuis,
Lean,&Seidell, 1998). Obesity amid women appears to be related to episodes of major

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depressionin mood disorder, and recurrent acquaintance to pressure and anxiety may incline
overweight women to particulartypes of phobia(Pickering et al., 2007).
Life Satisfaction
Literature suggests that obesity leads to implications that affect ones mental and physical health,
it further disrupts an individuals quality of life as well. Life satisfaction is defined as the
entitysassessing his personal life assuredly in the light of standardscompelled by himself
(Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin, 1985). Life satisfaction does not discuss the satisfaction
about a particular state, condition or any specific time period; rather, it denotes satisfaction about
all experiences of his entire life, in a general meaning(Avsaroglu & Deniz, 2005).
There is a well-researched documentation about obesity and weight issues resulting in social
segregation, occupational and educational discernment, and pervasive manifestation of negative
attitudes(Puhl &Brownell, 2001) that leads to bullying and teasing of people bearing weight
issues on public places, in educational and occupational settings.
Major goal of the study was to inspect variances within groups of female university students,
with and without weight disputes, and its impact on their general wellbeing that in turn affects
their levels of life satisfaction. Weight issues were monitored by calculating the Body Mass
Index (BMI) of the participants, i.e. measured by weight in kilograms divided by height in
meters squared. According to the Asian cutoffs of BMI as defined by WHO, obesity in adults is
defined as BMI greater than or equal to 23(Chittaranjan S. Yajnik, Yudkin, &Dr. Chizuru
Nishida, 2004).
In short, the studies focusing on wellbeing and quality of life associated with weight issues and
higher levels of BMI scores converge on the point that obesity is directly and indirectly
responsible of lower levels of general wellbeing, and thus may result in lower levels of
satisfaction of life.

Method
A cross-sectional data comprising 104 female young adult (aged 18-24) individuals, both were
taken from Rawalpindi city from April 1, 2013 to May 4, 2013. The sample was taken by
convenient purposive sampling, from multiple campuses of FoundationUniversity and Arid
Agricultural University,Rawalpindi.Married females and those above 24 years of age were not
included in the study.
For the presentstudy, we take data on the variables, age (in years, rounded to next year), weight
(inkg) and height (in meters).BMI of the individuals are calculated as weight inkilograms divided
by height in meters squared, usingmeasurements obtained from medical examinationsemploying
standardized procedures and equipments:
BMI = (
)
According to the recommendations of WHO (2000) for Asia Pacific Region, a person will be
underweight (if BMI <19), normal (if 20<BMI <23), overweight (if BMI 23<BMI<25) and
obese (BMI >25).
It is a mixed method research because the data was collected through qualitative (interviews) and
quantitative (questionnaire) methods. It is an exploratory-descriptive research which refers to the
provision of a rich and accurate description of quality of life and mental health of disabled ones

Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General Wellbeing among Female

with the help of questionnaires and interviews, which provides an in-depth understanding of their
life experiences in term of mental health and life quality.
Measures
The following measures were used to collect the data for the variables:
DemographicSheet
A demographic sheet was prepared to illicit the basic information about the participants in terms
of their age, gender, education and living status of participants. Some more questions were added
to get to know about the eating habits of the participants. The correlation of demographics with
variables, life satisfaction and general wellbeing was assessed.
Satisfaction with Life Scale(Diener et al., 1985)
The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) is a global measure of life satisfaction developed in
1985 by Sd.Diener and colleagues (Diener et al., 1985). It isa more general version of measuring
subjective wellbeing. Theory and research from field suggests that subjective wellbeing has at
least three components; positive affective appraisal, negative affective appraisal and life
satisfaction. Life satisfaction is eminent from affective appraisal is that it is more cognitively
determined than being emotionally driven. Its administration is brief; merely take more than a
few minutes. The SWLS consists of 5 items that are completed by the participant whose life
satisfaction is being measured. These 5 items are rated on a scale from 1(strongly disagree)
to 7 (strongly agree). This scale produces a global score by summing the scores of each item.
Scores may range from 5 to 35, with higher scores conforming to greater life satisfaction (Diener
et al., 1985).
General Wellbeing Scale(Dupuy, 1977 as cited in; McDowell, 2006)
The General Well-being schedule (GWB) was an initial effort towards the use of a highly
structured instrument for assessing self-representation of subjective well-being and distress
(McDowell, 2006). Thisinstrument was developed in 1970 for the National Centre for health
Statistics by Harold Dupuy, Psychology advisor, Division of Health Examination
Statistics(Dupuy, 1977).The internal consistency of the GWB is very high: in Fazios study, the
coefficients were 0.91 for 79 men and 0.95 for 116 women(Fazio, 1977).
The 18-item questionnaire includes six dimensions: anxiety, depression, positive well-being,
self-control, vitality and general health. It does not include the evaluation of physical health.
Every item measures the negative and positive items in a specific time frame i.e. during thelast
month. In scoring the divergence of items 1, 3, 6, 7, 9, 11, 15 and 16 is reversed, so that lower
scores represents severe distress. Dupuy (1977) used a total of 0-110 with lower scores
indicating severe distress are categorized accordingly: 0 to 60 reflect severe distress, 61 to 72
reflect moderate distress, and 73 to 110 reflect positive well-being. The internal consistency
and reliability of this scale is very high(McDowell, 2006), and has already been used in relation to
obesity, in the previous researches(Nieman et al., 2000).

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Result
The current comparative research study is designed to investigate the differences among female
university students, having healthy weight and students who are overweight or obese, and its
impression on their life satisfaction and general wellbeing. Life satisfaction and Psychological
general wellbeing were assessed with SWLS i.e.Satisfaction with Life Scale and GWBS i.e.
General Wellbeing Scale.
Data was analyzed with the help of SPSS software 21 version for windows. In order to fulfill the
objectives of the study and to test the basic hypothesis statistical analysis were performed.
Internal consistency of both the scales was determined. For analysis, correlations were used to
see relationship between scales and subscales. T-test analysis was used to compare the
differences between the scores of life satisfaction and general wellbeing between both the
groups. Following tables indicated the results obtained from data analysis:
Table 1- Frequencies (f) and percentages (%) of demographics (n=104)
Variables
Age
Education
Bachelors
Masters
Socioeconomic Status
Lower
Middle
Upper
Residence
Day Scholars
Hostel-ites
Regular Meals
Yes
No
Regular Breakfast
Yes
No
Snacks Intake per week
Less than three times
Three or more times
Fruits/Vegetables Intake per week
Less than three times
Three or more times
Fried Food Intake per week
Less than three times
Three or more times

Frequency

Percentage

53
51

51
49

12
79
13

11
76
13

89
15

86
14

75
29

72
28

46
58

44
59

44
60

42
58

67
37

64
36

25
79

23
77

M (SD)
21 (1.571)

The demographics data indicated that the sample consisted two groups, i.e. group one consisted
of participants having healthy weight (n=52) and group two consisted of participants who are
overweight/obese (n=52), with majority, n=53, 51% participants were students of Bachelors
programs, while, n=51, 49% of the participants were students of the Masters Programs.
Similarly, very few of the participants, n=12, 11% reported their socioeconomic status as Lower,

Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General Wellbeing among Female

majority of them reported their SES as Middle, n=70, 76% and few of the respondents mentioned
their SES as Upper Class, n=13, 13%. In the same manner, while mentioning their residence,
bulk of the participants, n=89, 86% reported to be living with their parents, while limited
participants, n=15, 14% reported to be living in the hostels, at the time of study. When
respondents were asked about their eating habits, mostly participants, n=75, 72% reported to
have regular meals, whereas few of them, n=29, 28% do not take their meals regularly. In
the same manner, n=46, 44% participants reported to have regular breakfast intake, while
majority i.e. n=58, 56% reported to have irregular breakfast intake. Most of the participants
n=60, 58% reported to have snacks three or more times per week, while some of them, n=44,
42% said to have snake intake less than twice in a week. Likewise, while reporting the
consumption fruits and vegetables weekly, many of the participants n=67, 64.4% reported to
consume fruits and vegetables less than twice per week, while some of them n=37, 35.6%
reported to have fruits and vegetables intake three or more times per week. Most of the
participants n=79, 76.8% had fried food consumption three or more times per week whereas very
few of them i.e. n=25, 23.2% said to have fried food consumption less than twice each week.
Table 2- Cronbachs Alphareliability index of Scales
(Satisfaction with Life Scale and General Wellbeing Scale)
Scales
SWLS

N of Items
5

.87

GWBS

18

.82

Table 2 shows that reliability of SWLS is .876 and reliability of GWBS is .823. This shows
that the items of the used scales are internally consistent to evaluate the psychological general
wellbeing and life satisfaction of participants ofthestudy.
Table 3- Correlations of Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)among the two groups (n=52 each)

BMI Scores

BMI Scores

SWLS

-.579 (**)

P
GWB

.000

-.579 (**)

.000

In Table 3, Pearson product correlation was used to find the correlation between scales. Results
reveal that there is a significant negative correlation r = -.579, p< .01 between BMI scores and
SWLS. This demonstrates that higher the BMI scores, lower will be the level of life satisfaction
among female university students.

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Table 4- Correlations of General Wellbeing Scale (GWBS) among the two groups (n=52 each)

BMI Scores

BMI Scores

GWBS

-.482 (**)

p
GWBS

.000

-.482 (**)

.000

In Table 4, Pearson product correlation was used to find the correlation between scales. Results
reveal that thereis a significant negative correlation r = -.482, p < .01 between BMI scores and
GWBS. This demonstrates that higher the BMI scores, lower will be the level ofpsychological
general wellbeing among female university students.
Table 5- Correlations of Total Scores of Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)
and General Wellbeing Scale (GWBS) among the two groups (n=52 each)
SWLS
GWB
SWLS

p
GWB

.627 (**)
.000

.627 (**)

.000

In Table 5, Pearson product correlation was used to find the correlation between scales. Results
reveal that there is a significant positive correlation r= .627, p <.01 between SWLS and GWBS.
This demonstrates that higher the level of life satisfaction of an individual, higher will be his
psychological general wellbeing, and lower the level of life satisfaction of and individual, lower
will be his psychological general wellbeing.
Table 6-Mean, Standard Deviation and t value ofTotal Scores of Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) among the
two groups (n=52 each)
Groups
M
SD
t
p
Group 1

22.87

5.640
7.170

Group 2

df = 99, p< .01

14.17

6.680

.000

Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General Wellbeing among Female

In Table 6, significant difference can be seen from the above figures (t = 7.170, p <.01) which
shows that participants of group 1, have higher levels of life satisfaction than participants of
group 1. Thus, participants of group 2 have difficulty maintaining their levels of life satisfaction
as compared to participants of group 1.
Table 7- Mean, Standard Deviation and t value of Total Scores of General Wellbeing Scale (GWBS) among the two
groups (n=52 each)
Groups
M
SD
t
p
Group 1

74.54

11.403
5.563

Group 2

60.12

.000

14.815

df = 96, p < .01

In Table 7, significant difference can be seen from the above figures (t = 5.563, p <.01) which
shows that healthy female university students, have higher levels of psychological general
wellbeing than their obese counterparts. Thus, participants of group 2 have difficultymaintaining
their levels of psychological general wellbeing as comparedto the participants of group 1.
Table 8- Mean, Standard Deviation and t value of Total Scores of Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and General
Wellbeing Scale (GWBS)
Scales
Groups
M
SD
t
p
Group 1

22.87

5.640

SWLS
Group 2

14.17

6.680

Group 1

74.54

11.403

GWBS
Group 2

60.12

7.170

.000

5.563

.000

14.815

df =95 , p < .01

In Table 8, significant differences can be seen, on the two scales i.e. SWLS and GWBS, from the
above figures (t = 7.170, 5.563, p <.01). Comparison of mean values on both the scales indicates
that participants of group 1 have greater levels of life satisfaction and general wellbeing as
compared to participants of group 2.

Anecdotal Accounts of Weight

Belief system is an important component of human perception. This part of the discussion states
the anecdotal accounts of participants, regarding perception and belief on weight. The open
ended responses of the participants were regarding the perceived definitions of beinghealthy and
overweight, asking participants, in your opinion, who can be called as healthy and
overweight?.The open ended questions also include their perception about weight, i.e. how

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doyou see people that are overweight or obese?and theirperceived implications of weight, i.e.
how doesbeing overweight bother you? Following is the open coding (axial coding) of the
anecdotal accounts of participants. The themes were generated and coded according to the
criteria described by Strauss and Corbin (Strauss &Corbin, 1998). Through open coding, main
themes were generated, out of which few sub themes were devised. Brief descriptions about the
themes and sub-themes, generated from the content analysis are given, as follows.
Figure 1- Main themes and sub-themes of Anecdotal Accounts of Participants
Main Themes
Sub Themes
Perceived Definitions of being Healthyand
Overweight
Physical Health
Eating Habits
Functional Health
Exercise
Body Mass relative to Age
Perception about Weight
Discriminatory Attitude
Jolly
Lethargic
Acceptable when Genetic
Discontentment
Perceived Implications of Weight
Dissatisfaction with Body Image
Stress
Does not Bother
Anxiety

Implications of Weight on Levels of Life Satisfaction and General Wellbeing among Female

Conclusion
It was hypothesized that there will be a difference between the two groups, i.e.female university
students having healthy weight and students that are overweight, on SWLS. Findings of the study
also indicate that university students that had higher BMI scores scored less on SWLS, whereas
female university students having healthy BMI scores, scored high on SWLS. Most of the female
university students having healthy weight had increased levels of life satisfaction while majority
of the females who were overweight scores less on SWLS, that indicates their low levels of life
satisfaction. Analysis also suggests that there exists a negative relationship (r = -.579**) between
BMI scores and SWLS. Several researches also support that there exists a negative relationship
between the two variables, i.e. BMI scoresand life satisfaction. Forste and Morre(2012)
suggested that lower life satisfaction is seen and reported in adolescents and young adults that
are overweight and obese, as compared to those with healthy weight, and most of their negative
association drives through perceptions of peers, parents and self(Forste&Moore, 2012). Another
research done by Heneghan, Heinberg, Windover, Rogula, & Schauer, implies that obese
individuals with lower levels of lifesatisfaction are certainly at an amplified risk of suicide. This
risk seems to continue regardless of treatment of obesity (Heneghan, Heinberg, Windover,
Rogula,&Schauer, 2012).
In the present research it was also hypothesized that there will be a difference between the two
groups, i.e. female university students having healthy weight andstudents that are overweight, on
GWBS. Findings of the study also indicate thatuniversity students that had higher BMI scores
scored less on GWBS that shows severeand moderate distress,scoring low on the depression
and anxiety subscales, and scored high on the subscales of positive wellbeing, vitality, selfcontrol and general health; whereas female university students having healthy BMI scores,
scored high on GWBS, indicating their positive wellbeing. An important relationship exists
between obesity and mental ailment that influences all aspects of an individual's quality of life.
This association can begin early in the developmental course and we do not however entirely
understand all the mechanisms associating obesity and mental illness (Taylor, Forhan, Vigod,
McIntyre, & Morrison, 2013). Similarly, Whitelaw, Teuton, Swift, and Scobierevealed that
increased physical activity with decreased level of BMI has the potential to improve mental
wellbeing in young people(Whitelaw, Teuton, Swift,&Scobie, 2010). In addition, Ashmore,
Friedman, Reichmann, & Musante suggested that weight-centered stigmatization can be an
important factor in the increased levels of psychological distress of people that overweight and
obese (Ashmore, Friedman, Reichmann,& Musante, 2008).
Berg et al, in their study revealed that examination of eating patterns and portion sizes can help
us find more about obeso-genic nutrition patterns than outmoded nutrient exploration of food
regularities(Berg et al., 2009). Another study (2003) revealed thateating past satiation was the
only behavior associated with body mass index (BMI). The chances of becoming obese increase
by many folds, in women who eat beyond satiation everyday compared to those who rarely or
never eat beyond satiation(Brewer, Kolotkin, &Baird, 2003).
Overall this study was important as an exploratory research to find out the impact of weight
problems on the life satisfaction and general wellbeing among the female university students.
The results of the study showed that females with low BMI scores would have high levels of life
satisfaction and psychological general wellbeing and might have high positive wellbeing. On the
other hand, females with high BMI scores would have low levels of life satisfaction and
psychological general wellbeing, and might be moderately or severely distressed as well.

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Therefore, BMI scores or weight problems greatly affect the life satisfaction and psychological
general wellbeing of young adult females.
Present study has suggested that there is a significant level of difference between the two groups
on SWLS and GWBS. Although the classification on the basis of BMI and its Asia cutoffs are
still under discussion, the previous researches proves that higher BMI scores are directly and
indirectly associated with significant health related illnesses as type 2 diabetes(Brancati., Wang.,
Mead, Liang, &Klag, 1999)and cardiovascular diseases(PiSunyer, 1993) and can result in
premature death(Calle, Thun, Petrelli, Rodriguez, & Heath, 1999). It has also been proved that
higher weight status, is associated with the probability of past-year DSM-V major depression,
suicide ideation and suicide attempts (Carpenter., Hasin., Allison., & Faith, 2000). In the light of
the present study, there is a need of providing awareness to the university students and its
management to adopt healthy eating habits and having appropriate weight, to have better
psychological wellbeing.

Acknowledgment
The authors appreciates the assistance of the individuals assisted us in the study.
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