SEARCHOTHERsurgery, psychiatry

other·surgery, psychiatry, public health, geriatrics, family medicine·PMC10374044

Weight stigma after bariatric surgery: A qualitative study with Brazilian women

PLOS ONE · 14 authors, 6 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

“

TL;DR

Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed that participants experienced persistent weight stigma despite significant weight loss, characterized by internalized and reproduced stigma, vigilant monitoring of their bodies, and judgment for choosing surgery as an 'easy way out.' Older women specifically reported that stigma was entangled with ageism, receiving mixed messages that weight loss made them look elderly.

Full summary

487 CHARS

STUDY TYPE

other

SPECIALTY

surgery

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10374044

Weight stigma after bariatric surgery: A qualitative study with Brazilian women

PLOS ONE

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Prior studies suggest that one anticipated benefit of bariatric surgery is the achievement of a thinner body, one that is less subject to perceived negative judgment and condemnation by others. However, additional analyses also indicate that stigma may persist even with significant post-surgery weight loss. To investigate the stigma-related perceptions and experiences of women who have undergone bariatric surgery and the resulting body transformations, we conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with thirty Brazilian women (15 aged 33–59 and 15 aged 63–72). The resulting text was then analyzed using thematic analysis. We found that some form of weight stigma persisted for our participants, regardless of weight loss. Ongoing experiences of stigma were also evidenced by the constant internal and external vigilance reported by the women, as well as their articulated efforts to distance themselves from their previous bodies. Additionally, participants reported being judged for choosing an “easy way out” to lose weight. Those in the older group reported that weight stigma was entangled with ageism: older participants received mixed messages underscoring the ways that weight and age may interact in doubly stigmatizing ways. Family and close peers were especially powerful sources of stigma experiences. Collectively, these results show that weight stigma persists even when people undergo a procedure to lose substantive weight and that the degree and types of stigma experiences are influenced by gender and age. Our study suggest future research should explore whether a targeted approach might be more effective, for example, an approach that would emphasize the importance of developing coping strategies with respect to experiences of stigma and discrimination after surgery.

CITATION EXPORT

Mariana Dimitrov Ulian, Ramiro Fernandez Unsain, Ruth Rocha Franco et al.. Weight stigma after bariatric surgery: A qualitative study with Brazilian women. PLOS ONE. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287822

AUTHORS

14 · 6 CENTRES

Mariana Dimitrov Ulian, Ramiro Fernandez Unsain, Ruth Rocha Franco, Marco Aurélio Santo, Alexandra Brewis, Sarah Trainer, Cindi SturtzSreetharan, Amber Wutich, Bruno Gualano, Fernanda Baeza Scagliusi, Carlos Magno Castelo Branco Fortaleza, Vidanka Vasilevski, Vidanka Vasilevski, Vidanka Vasilevski

1 Departamento de Nutrição, Faculdade de Saúde Pública da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
2 Unidade de Endocrinologia Pediátrica do Instituto da Criança do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
3 Divisão de Cirurgia do Aparelho Digestivo, Unidade de Cirurgia Bariátrica e Metabólica, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
4 School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
5 Grupo de Pesquisa em Fisiologia Aplicada e Nutrição, Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
Deakin University Faculty of Health, AUSTRALIA

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Vidanka Vasilevski