For subjective indicators of pain, obese people indicated similar levels of pain to non-obese people. But when we looked at objective indicators, we found that the obese group had a lower threshold for pain.
This is important because if an obese person begins an exercise program, he may not cognitively experience pain when in fact it is hurting the body on some level. That could lead to severe pain down the road.
The relaxation procedure helped both groups cope with pain. Additionally, our tests showed both groups had higher physical pain thresholds after the relaxation session. But the obese participants still had a lower threshold for tolerating the pain.
Our findings show the importance of looking at objective as well as subjective measurements of how the body responds to pain stimuli.