comparison of attitudes and patterns of behavior between controlled and uncontrolled body weight of cardiac patients

ABSTRACT

A purposive sample of 30 cardiac patients with controlled body weight and 30 uncontrolled ones, based upon specified criterea selected from the alexandria outpatient clinics of the health insurance [Gamal Abdel Nasser Hospital] were participated in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire, that elicited personal characteristics of the subjects and two measurement tools to assess the stated hypotheses. The results showed that the two groups did not differ significantly in relation to the personal characteristics. A significant difference was indicated between the two groups in relation to unhappiness while the perception of productive persistence was not statistically significant between the two groups. Regarding patients' attitude toward food and its relation to the emotion state, the finding indicated that 16 out of 23 items were statistically significantly different at 5% level. Cardiac patients with uncontrolled body weight perceived that they eat more when they are nervous, irritable and depressed. Controlled cardiac patients did not relate eating more to being nervous. In addition, uncontrolled body weight acknowledge that they had awareness of periods of over eating. This awareness was not expressed by cardiac patients who had controlled body weight