Obesity, Lived Experience, and the Self: A Qualitative Study of Overweight People in Iran

<strong>Background:</strong> Obesity is an identity that is the result of the overweight person’s experience and perception of this problem. <strong>Objectives:</strong> The purpose of this study is to evaluate various aspects of the lived experience and changes in the self for 29 sleeve surgery patients from two hospitals in southern Iran. <strong>Patients and Methods:</strong> After in-depth, open-ended interviews with 29 sleeve candidate patients (24 females and 5 males), their statements were analyzed through a thematic method. <strong>Results:</strong> Findings revealed that obesity is a continually negative experience with four characteristics for participants: losses, limitations, psychological pressures, and social pressures. These experiences can lead to profound changes in the self and cause the patient to develop self-hatred, submissiveness, and passivity. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Obesity involves a diversity of negative experiences; more consideration should be given to overweight people, especially overweight women. Accordingly, social policymakers should help by desensitizing this problem in society through media, universities, and schools. Also, fostering a positive attitude in these individuals is important and would require paying attention to their individual, psychological, and social needs through teamwork.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC

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