How do obese young women seeking treatment for weight loss experience being overweight? A qualitative exploratory study.

This thesis aimed to explore how obese young women seeking treatment for weight loss experienced being obese. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six obese females, aged 14-17 years. The interviews were led by an interview schedule that focused on body image concern, emotional distress and disordered eating behaviour. The focus was to encourage the participants to talk freely of their experience of being obese. Thematic analysis (Boyatzis, 1998) was used to analyse the transcribed interviews and to identify the central themes used to answer the following research questions: 1) How do obese young women seeking treatment for weight loss describe their body image concerns, and what is the nature of these concerns? 2) How do obese young women seeking treatment for weight loss talk about their emotional experiences? 3) How do obese young women seeking treatment for weight loss talk about their disordered eating behaviours? There is a detailed description offered outlining the analysis process and the qualitative approach adopted that adhered to methodological rigour regarding trustworthiness and offering transparency in how the data were analysed. The following themes were generated in relation to the above research questions: 1) Obesity and self-perception (including negative body image concerns relating to body parts dissatisfaction and negative cognitions regarding body shape 2) The role of food and emotions (including emotionally driven eating and disordered eating behaviours) 3) Obesity and others perception (including wider society and negative perceptions and social isolation). IX A dominant feature associated with these themes was the way in which the participants were self-critical regarding their weight and shape and fearful of others criticisms. The findings are discussed in relation to existing research on youth obesity and related psychosocial factors. There are also considerations of the clinical implications of the findings and recommendations for future research