University of Distance Education in Madrid, Spain

Child obesity, a psychological perspective on research and intervention

Obesity, in general, and particularly in children, has turned into one of the most important health problems in the world. The different health sciences, and therefore psychology also, have been called upon to study this phenomenon from different angles. This symposium will be based on four papers that study child obesity from a psychological point of view. On the one hand there will be a presentation on how the self-informed data on weight and height in a sample of children has a high correspondence with the real data, something that has also been seen in other ages, and how this can facilitate the psychological researches on child obesity. Two of the studies inform on the relation between the children´s physical state and body image: one about how this body image is affected; the other on how it can be assessed quickly in children. In this respect, it is important to identify the usual impact on their body image in obese children and by extension, on their self-concept and self-esteem. Finally, a fourth study, will give an explanation on programmes to prevent child obesity using new communication and information technologies and if they are effective or not.

José I. Baile Ayensa is a graduate in Psychology (specialised in Clinical Psychology), and in Law; Master in Clinical and Health Psychology and Doctor in Psychology. He is a teacher on leave from the Body of Secondary Education Teachers, in which, for 20 years, he has been a teacher and school counsellor. Since 2004 he has worked in a university education context, in the field of Personality, Assessment and Psychological Treatment. Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer at the Distance Learning University of Madrid (UDIMA), where he teaches in the subjects of Intervention and Psychological Treatment, and Clinical and Health Psychology. His research field is that of Body Image, Eating Disorders and Obesity, and is the coordinator of a research team whose work is oriented towards these topics. He has published dozens of articles, various books and is a regular speaker at academic events at an international level, about his field of specialisation.