Being ‘fat’ in today’s world: a qualitative study of the lived experiences of people with obesity in Australia

Abstract

Objective To develop an in-depth picture of both lived experience of obesity and the impact of socio-cultural factors on people living with obesity.Design Qualitative methodology, utilizing in-depth semi-structured interviews with a community sample of obese adults (body mass index ‡30). Community sampling methods were supplemented with purposive sampling techniques to ensure a diverse range of individuals were included.Results Seventy-six individuals (aged 16-72) were interviewed. Most had struggled with their weight for most of their lives (n = 45). Almost all had experienced stigma and discrimination in childhood (n = 36), as adolescents (n = 41) or as adults (n = 72). About half stated that they had been humiliated by health professionals because of their weight. Participants felt an individual responsibility to lose weight, and many tried extreme forms of dieting to do so. Participants described an increasing culture of ÔblameÕ against people living with obesity perpetuated by media and public health messages. Eighty percent said that they hated or disliked the word obesity and would rather be called fat or overweight.Discussion and Conclusion There are four key conclusions: (i) the experiences of obesity are diverse, but there are common themes, (ii) people living with obesity have heard the messages but find it difficult to act upon them, (iii) interventions should be tailored to address both individual and community needs and (iv) we need to rethink how to approach obesity interventions to ensure that avoid recapitulating damaging social stereotypes and exacerbating social inequalities.

A Qualitative Study of the Day-to-Day Lives of Obese Mexican-American Adolescent Females

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Perceptions of Stigma and Discrimination in Health Care Settings Towards Sub-Saharan African Migrant Women Living With Hiv/Aids in Belgium: A Qualitative Study

“…Sickness is bad enough, but there are some illnesses that lead to stigma and, eventually, discrimination -a direct act of unfair treatment. People have a tendency to see the person and not the disease as the problem (Thomas et al, 2008;Taylor, 2013), which may cause social and health inequities as well as structural violence (Parker, 2012).…”

Motivasjon til livsstilsendring hos personer med sykelig overvekt

“…Tilstanden er også assosiert med negative holdninger, nedvurdering og stigmatisering fra befolkningen, i egen familie og fra helsepersonell (4,5). Disse aspektene har negative konsekvenser for livskvalitet og psykologisk velvaere, som dårlig selvbilde, skamfølelse og økt krenkbarhet (6,7,8).…”

“…De fleste vet hva de bør gjøre, men at det er vanskelig å legge om vanene. Man anbefaler derfor å tilby intervensjoner som er skreddersydd til den enkelte, samt gruppetilbud (8,27). Motivasjon er ikke bare et individuelt anliggende, men er også knyttet til gode laeringsmiljøer, som kan virke stimulerende og støttende.…”