Stigma, Perception of obesity and depression among Overweight/Obese Adolescent Secondary School Students in Kampala – Uganda.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine stigma, perception of obesity and depression among overweight/obese adolescent secondary school students as well as the mediating effect of perception of obesity between stigma and depression among adolescents in Kampala district. The study was carried out among overweight/obese adolescents between 13 – 17 years in selected secondary schools of Kampala. The study was quantitative and employed a correlation research design. Schools from the different divisions of Kampala were randomly selected and purposive sampling was used to select students by the school counselors/nurses. A total of 100 respondents was selected after determining the weight status of the adolescents using Body Mass Index for Age weight status categories and the corresponding percentiles according to the World Health Organization (WHO) cut offs points. Data were collected using standardized self-administered questionnaires and IBM-SPSS version 28 was used to analyze both descriptive and inferential statistics. Hayes’ PROCESS macro software 4.0v was used in testing the “mediation effect”. There were 57% female and 43% male participants. The majority of the respondents involved in the study were between ages 15 – 17 years (see table 3). There were significant relationships between stigma and perception of obesity, stigma and depression, perception of obesity and depression. Perception of obesity significantly mediates in the relationship between stigma and depression among overweigh/obese adolescent. All stakeholders charged with the learning of children and adolescents should pay special focus on obesity and its associated challenges faced by adolescents including stigma and depression.