Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity
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...
Main Authors: | , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2019-01-01
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Series: | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2019.1699637 |
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author | Britt Marit Haga Bodil Furnes Elin Dysvik Venke Ueland |
author_facet | Britt Marit Haga Bodil Furnes Elin Dysvik Venke Ueland |
author_sort | Britt Marit Haga |
collection | DOAJ |
description | 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 335 kg/m2) 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. |
first_indexed | 2024-03-08T08:47:00Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-27b7445a22484dc3b37ae7594be116db |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 1748-2623 1748-2631 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-03-08T08:47:00Z |
publishDate | 2019-01-01 |
publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
record_format | Article |
series | International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being |
spelling | doaj.art-27b7445a22484dc3b37ae7594be116db2024-02-01T14:39:34ZengTaylor & Francis GroupInternational Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being1748-26231748-26312019-01-0114110.1080/17482631.2019.16996371699637Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesityBritt Marit Haga0Bodil Furnes1Elin Dysvik2Venke Ueland3University of StavangerUniversity of StavangerUniversity of StavangerUniversity of StavangerPurpose: 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 335 kg/m2) 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.http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2019.1699637obesityphenomenologywell-beinghealthlifeworldlived experiencesexistential experiences |
spellingShingle | Britt Marit Haga Bodil Furnes Elin Dysvik Venke Ueland Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being obesity phenomenology well-being health lifeworld lived experiences existential experiences |
title | Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity |
title_full | Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity |
title_fullStr | Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity |
title_full_unstemmed | Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity |
title_short | Aspects of well-being when struggling with obesity |
title_sort | aspects of well being when struggling with obesity |
topic | obesity phenomenology well-being health lifeworld lived experiences existential experiences |
url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2019.1699637 |
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