A team of researchers under the guidance of Kristy Dalrymple from Rhode Island Hospital revealed that obese individuals can feel social anxiety up to the levels of social anxiety disorder.

The study has been conducted by the team on the group of obese individuals asking for the permission for bariatric surgery.

The researchers identified three groups: one diagnosed with DSM-IV SAD consisting of 135 patients, second group consisting of 40 patients were diagnosed with "modified SAD" and categorized 616 individuals in the third group, who are without any pre-history of psychiatric disorders.

The researchers highlighted that the SAD and the modified SAD group patients are having weaker social presence as compared to the individuals without any disorder.

Dalrymple quoted that the results of their study contravene the SAD criteria used by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition.

Dalrymple asserted "We found it particularly interesting that the modified SAD group reported greater levels of disruption in social life and distress about their social anxiety compared to the DSM-IV SAD group. This suggests that although our modified SAD group had social anxiety that was related to obesity only, their level of impairment was significant."

The study has been published online in the Depression and Anxiety journal.