Putting life on hold: lived experiences of people with obesity

Haga, Britt Marit; Furnes, Bodil; Dysvik, Elin; Ueland, Venke

doi:10.1111/scs.12756

Cited by 19 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…The concepts "discovering the body" and "negotiating with the body" reveal the participants' realization that life itself can only be experienced through the body, despite experiencing their body as an opponent to living. According to previous research, struggling with obesity can lead to a feeling of not having full access to life, so life can be experienced as being "put on hold" (Haga et al, 2019). However, in the present study, we discovered that the participants found themselves negotiating ongoing tension between restriction and freedom of action because of their perceived bodily limitations.…”

Section: Striving To Make Living Bearablecontrasting

confidence: 46%

“…Some recent studies have enhanced the understanding of what it is like to live with obesity as an existential challenge (Haga, Furnes, Dysvik, & Ueland, 2019;Ueland, Furnes, Dysvik, & Rørtveit, 2019;Westland Barber, 2017); however, these studies did not examine how people with obesity live their life in spite of their challenges. As far as we have found, very few studies have provided an existential perspective, describing how people with obesity might experience well-being within their perceived limitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity

Haga

Furnes

Dysvik

et al. 2019

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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Purpose: We aimed to gain deeper insight into how people struggling with obesity handle their life situation by addressing how well-being might unfold. For many people, obesity becomes a lifelong condition characterized by repeated weight fluctuations while their weight increases gradually. From an existential perspective, constantly waiting for weight loss can cause an experience of not reaching one's full potential. How people with obesity experience well-being, within their perceived limitations, is less reflected in previous research. Methods: We established a qualitative study using in-depth interviews with seven men and 14 women with obesity (body mass index 3 35 kg/m 2) aged 18-59 years. The study had an exploratory design including a phenomenological-hermeneutic perspective, with a lifeworld approach. Results: Three themes describing aspects of well-being were developed: coming to terms with the body, restoring the broken relational balance and reorienting the pivot in life. The thematic findings were abstracted into a main theme: striving to make living bearable. The movement towards well-being can be seen as a struggle towards an experience of balance to make bearable living. Conclusions: We suggest that well-being as a dialectic between vulnerability and freedom might become a health-facilitating experience for people struggling with obesity.

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Section: Striving To Make Living Bearablecontrasting

confidence: 46%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity

Haga

Furnes

Dysvik

et al. 2019

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…For people with obesity, from an existential standpoint, living with the disease has been described as a burden with experiences of objectification, alienation and judgement 10 . In “normal times” people with obesity face several existential challenges in their everyday life due to their disease 11 . How the early stage of the pandemic is further impacting this lived experience, their lifeworld so to speak, has yet to be explored in depth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I am terrified of something happening to me” The lived experience of people with obesity during the COVID‐19 pandemic

2020

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Summary Obesity is emerging as a risk factor for COVID‐19 disease severity. The impact of the pandemic and knowledge of obesity as a risk factor on the lived experience of people with obesity is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on people living with severe obesity (BMI ≥35 kg/m2), currently engaged in multi‐modal treatment. The primary objectives were to examine the impact of the pandemic on their lived experience from a treatment and psychosocial standpoint and additionally explore their awareness of obesity as a risk factor for COVID‐19 disease severity. An in‐depth qualitative study was adopted employing semi‐structured interviews with open‐ended questions. Interpretive thematic analysis was adopted to analyse the data and identify key themes taking a grounded approach. Themes that emerged from the perspective of impact on lived experience were (a) challenge sustaining treatment and (b) psychosocial impact. There was an even split regarding awareness and lack of awareness of obesity as risk factor which itself contributes towards a negative psychosocial impact in most patients. The COVID‐19 pandemic is posing a diverse challenge to people with obesity. This has implications for their on‐going treatment. From an ethical standpoint, there is a need to fully elucidate the link between obesity and COVID‐19, disseminate this information using people friendly language and imagery in a manner that does not exacerbate a harmful psychosocial response or lead to stigmatization.

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“…Different qualitative studies have explored severely obese individuals' experiences in relation to weight loss (Christiansen et al, 2007;Dahl et al, 2014;Thomas et al, 2008) or PA in relation to bariatric surgery (Dikareva et al, 2016;Peacock et al, 2014;Wiklund et al, 2011;Zabatiero et al, 2016). Recent studies have explored how living with obesity is experienced from an existential perspective (Haga et al, 2019a(Haga et al, , 2019bUeland et al, 2019). However, less emphasis has been put on how PA is experienced by patients living with severe obesity and a systematic review found that very little is known about how facilitators and barriers to PA are lived through a process of lifestyle changed and described in relation to existential experiences of well-being (Toft & Uhrenfeldt, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Being active when living within a large body: experiences during lifestyle intervention

Toft

Galvin

Nielsen

et al. 2020

International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well

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Background: In-depth understanding of the experiences of both well-being and suffering in relation to being severely obese and becoming active through lifestyle intervention is lacking. Aim: to explore and describe adults' existential experiences of being active, when living within a large body-before and during a lifestyle intervention. Methods: A longitudinal design of repeated individual interviews with 16 adults with BMI ≥40, based on hermeneutic phenomenology, existential philosophy and a theory of wellbeing was performed. The study was approved by the Danish health authorities. Results: Two dimensions of experiences were found; "Living within a downward spiral" and "Striving for enjoyment and settlement". The themes describing suffering were: 'Sense of being thwarted and defeated ' and "Tackling energy depletion and impact of sense of self". The themes describing well-being were: "Hoping for renewal and energised resoluteness" and "Enduring discomfort and feeling safe". Conclusions: Interacting existential experiences can be facilitators or barriers for physical activity. It seems relevant for health care providers to address the individual's lifeworld experiences of well-being, lack of well-being and suffering. Well-being as a sense of feeling "at home" when physically active may break down an inactivity spiral. Promoting well-being is a legitimate aim of lifestyle intervention. ARTICLE HISTORY

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Putting life on hold: lived experiences of people with obesity

Cited by 19 publications

References 42 publications

Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity

Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity

“I am terrified of something happening to me” The lived experience of people with obesity during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Being active when living within a large body: experiences during lifestyle intervention

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