Exploring weight-related attitudes and experiences

The increasing prevalence of people who are overweight and obese is a global health concern, with associated physical health problems that are highly linked to mortality and morbidity. As well as physical health consequences, there are also psychological and social consequences of obesity. The factors that are involved in why excessive amounts of food are being consumed have been explored. Such explanations as to why adults and children are overweight include individual factors as well as social, cultural and environmental influences. CHAPTER ONE: The literature review critically evaluates the research that has explored the attitudes towards dieting and weight loss of people in ethnic minority groups. The review indicated a number of factors that impact upon individuals ability to manage weight, including individual factors such as the impact on emotional well-being, as well as cultural influences such as tensions around living in two cultures and the dilemma of making different food choices. Clinical implications included tailoring interventions in order to account for individual, family and cultural factors that influence a person’s ability to manage their weight. CHAPTER TWO: The empirical paper aimed to explore weight-related views and opinions of young people who are overweight and were actively engaged within a weight management programme, using a Grounded Theory approach. A model of participants experiences was developed that reflected how participant’s sense of self and how they made sense of being overweight were interlinked, and sat within the wider category of how they manage being overweight. Such factors were further influenced by others in the wider systemic context. The findings suggested implications for tailoring interventions to individuals, as well as exploring the impact of interventions for the family as a whole. CHAPTER THREE: This paper summarises the reflections of the personal and professional experiences of talking with young people about their weight management journey. The categories within the Grounded Theory model were considered, as were the reflections of doing research with young people