Introduction:

Currently, obesity has become an emerging and complex public health problem whose mechanism is etiopathogenetic and multifactorial. Obesity has been studied from the biomolecular and genetic approach as well as through interventions to improve lifestyles. However, studies linking the concepts of self-efficacy and resilience have not been included in this issue.

Objective:

Evaluate the relationship between self-efficacy for weight control and resilience in Mexican women.

Methodology:

Correlational-cross-sectional study in 174 women, with or without obesity, enrolled in a job-training center of Puebla and San Luis Potosi, Mexico; non-probabilistic sampling was used. These two instruments Self-Efficacy Inventory for Weight Control and Mexican Resilience Scale, validated in the Mexican population were applied: with Cronbach's alpha .945 and .950, respectively. This study carried out in accordance with the General Health Act for Research. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, normality tests, and Spearman's r correlation.

Results:

The mean age was 34.6±14.7, mean BMI 26.4±4.5, 49.7% and 81.7% were high levels of self-efficacy and resilience, respectively. The relationship was positive, medium effect size and statistically significant p=.001, with an explained variance of 22.6%.

Conclusions:

The Mexican women shown that the greater the resilience, the greater the self-efficacy for weight control. We suggest integrating resilience in managing obesity, which allows the development of mechanisms for the acquisition of more sustainable healthy lifestyles.

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