The experience of being obese and the many consequences of stigma

Abstract

The present qualitative study aimed to explore how people experience their obesity and to explore the impact of this on their motivations to lose weight. Participants (n=46) were either currently obese or had been obese and were interviewed about their experiences. Participants described the impact of obesity on aspects of their self-identity and used language such as "ugly", "freak", "hate", "blob", and "disgust" which reflected the pervasively negative impact of their weight. They highlighted a complex and often contradictory relationship with food and described how such negative experiences were created out of the dynamic between their obesity and a stigmatising social context. Some, however, suggested that such stigma could also have positive consequences by promoting and encouraging behaviour change. Many obese people, therefore, experience their weight in profoundly negative ways as a result of existing within a social context which stigmatises their condition. The results are discussed in terms of the costs and benefits of stigma and a balance between support, tolerance, and collusion in promoting weight loss. Copyright © 2010 J. Ogden and C. Clementi.