Apr 28, 2015 04:51 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Having low self-esteem related to one's weight and keeping food visibly available around the house, outside the kitchen, are two strong predictors of obesity, according to a recent study.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that architectural features and food storage and availability in the home environment and psychological factors were associated with obesity. They also found that architectural features had no relationship to obesity status, several food-related findings did.

For the study, researchers recruited 100 participants between the ages of 20 and 78. Fifty were not obese, and the 50 obese participants had an average body mass index of 36.80 (a BMI of 30 indicates obesity). They conducted a two-hour home visit with participants, interviewing them about food consumption, assessing the layout and food storage in the homes, and having participants complete self-report psychological questionnaires. They followed up two weeks later to evaluate participants' food purchases and physical activity.

They found that People who were obese kept more food visible throughout the house and generally ate less-healthy foods, such as sweets, than nonobese research participants. The two groups spent about the same amount of money on food and reported eating similar amounts of total calories, but nonobese participants spent less on fast food than did obese individuals.

"The amount of food in the homes was similar, but in the homes of obese individuals, food was distributed in more locations outside the kitchen," said Charles Emery, lead author of the study. "That speaks to the environment being arranged in a way that may make it harder to avoid eating food. That has not been clearly documented before."

In addition, obese participants reported significantly lower self-esteem related to their body weight than did nonobese people. Obese participants also reported more symptoms of depression.

"Effects of the home environment and psychosocial factors haven't been examined together in previous studies," Emery said. "Most weight-loss interventions for children and people with eating disorders include a focus on self-esteem, but it's not standard for adult weight-loss programs. Self-esteem is important because when adults don't feel good about themselves, there may be less incentive for implementing behavioral changes in the home environment."

Though the statistical modeling identified predictors of obesity status, the predictors shouldn't be considered causes of weight problems, Emery said.

 "We're painting a detailed picture of the home environment that two different groups of people have created. Whether that environment contributed to obesity or obesity led to the environment, we don't know," he added.

Emery added that food is not the only issue affecting weight, either. However, changing eating habits is unlike many other behavior changes, such as quitting smoking or abstaining from alcohol.

The findings are detailed in the International Journal of Obesity.

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