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...

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Main Authors: Britt Marit Haga, Bodil Furnes, Elin Dysvik, Venke Ueland
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
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.
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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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AT venkeueland aspectsofwellbeingwhenstrugglingwithobesity