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. 2025 Jan 21;17(3):373.
doi: 10.3390/nu17030373.

The Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward Obesity in Bulgarian Adults with a BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2-An Exploratory Study

Mihail A Boyanov  1   2 , Margarita B Grigorova  3 , Anna T Karteva-Stoycheva  4 , Todorka K Atanasova  5 , Maria G Nikolova  6
Affiliations

The Perceptions of and Attitudes Toward Obesity in Bulgarian Adults with a BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/m2-An Exploratory Study

Mihail A Boyanov et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: Obesity affects 33.2% of the adult population in Bulgaria, and there is a scarcity of information about affected individuals' attitudes toward their weight situation. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of obesity in affected adults.

Methods: The present study involved a questionnaire-based survey that utilized home-based and tablet-assisted face-to-face interviews. Interviewees comprised individuals aged 25-64 y/o with a BMI > 25.0 kg/m2.

Results: Overall, 704 respondents participated (344 overweight; 360 obese). Over 50% of participants reported attempts to reduce their weight, with only 6% of participants in the overweight group and 16% in the obese group perceiving their condition as worrisome. One-third of the obese participants considered their state temporary. The main cause for alarm in overweight/obese participants was a worsening overall physical condition in males and an increase in clothes size in females. The need for an urgent reduction in body weight was noted by 12% of the overweight respondents and 40% of the obese respondents. The reasons for being overweight were collated as a lack of physical activity (noted by 52% of participants), sedentary lifestyle (51%), stress/depression (41%), excessive consumption of carbohydrates (34%), general overconsumption of food (33%), and poor quality of food products (28%). Of note, 56% of the respondents had first consulted a medical professional about being overweight. Most respondents selected dieting without physical activity for weight reduction, with 48% stating that they would try drugs approved for weight reduction.

Conclusions: Many overweight/obese individuals have an unrealistic self-perception and very low motivation to take active measures. These discrepancies offer great opportunities for better public education and structured, active strategies.

Keywords: attitudes; discrepancies; interview; obesity; perceptions.

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Conflict of interest statement

M.A.B. and M.G.N. have received lecture honoraria from Novo Nordisk Bulgaria. T.K.A. and A.T.K.-S. are employees of Novo Nordisk Bulgaria. In addition, M.A.B. has received speaker honoraria from Elly Lilly, Novartis, Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Servier, VoerwagPharma, Merck, and Egis and has participated in Advisory Boards for Stada, Astra Zeneca, and Amgen. M.G.N. is an employee of the marketing agency Noema, which performed the selection process and the actual interviews. None of these bodies affected the design, methodology, analysis, and data presentation of the current study, nor the manuscript creation and editing.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overall health self-evaluation (“How would you evaluate your overall health condition?”).
Figure 2
Figure 2
The self-perception of the respondents of being overweight/obese is shown as shares in the total sample and BMI subcategories (“Do you consider yourself having extra kg? How many? How many would you like to lose? Any extra weight?”).
Figure 3
Figure 3
The need for urgent reduction in body weight as perceived by the respondents (shares are shown in % of the total).
Figure 4
Figure 4
The most popular methods for weight reduction among those who had made previous attempts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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