Blame, shame, and lack of support: A multilevel study on obesity management

Sara F.L. Kirk, Sheri L. Price, Tarra L. Penney, Laurene Rehman, Renee F. Lyons, Helena Piccinini-Vallis, T. Michael Vallis, Janet Curran, Megan Aston

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this research, we examined the experiences of individuals living with obesity, the perceptions of health care providers, and the role of social, institutional, and political structures in the management of obesity. We used feminist poststructuralism as the guiding methodology because it questions everyday practices that many of us take for granted. We identified three key themes across the three participant groups: blame as a devastating relation of power, tensions in obesity management and prevention, and the prevailing medical management discourse. Our findings add to a growing body of literature that challenges a number of widely held assumptions about obesity within a health care system that is currently unsupportive of individuals living with obesity. Our identification of these three themes is an important finding in obesity management given the diversity of perspectives across the three groups and the tensions arising among them.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)790-800
Number of pages11
JournalQualitative Health Research
Volume24
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2014

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Support was received from the Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (Canada Research Chair program award to S. F. L. Kirk).

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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Kirk, S. F. L., Price, S. L., Penney, T. L., Rehman, L., Lyons, R. F., Piccinini-Vallis, H., Vallis, T. M., Curran, J., & Aston, M. (2014). Blame, shame, and lack of support: A multilevel study on obesity management. Qualitative Health Research, 24(6), 790-800. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732314529667