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Do Health Beliefs And Behaviors Differ According To Severity Of Obesity? A Qualitative Study Of Australian Adults, Sophie Lewis, Samantha L. Thomas, R. Warwick Blood, Jim Hyde, David J. Castle, Paul A. Komesaroff
Do Health Beliefs And Behaviors Differ According To Severity Of Obesity? A Qualitative Study Of Australian Adults, Sophie Lewis, Samantha L. Thomas, R. Warwick Blood, Jim Hyde, David J. Castle, Paul A. Komesaroff
Faculty of Social Sciences - Papers (Archive)
Public responses to obesity have focused on providing standardized messages and supports to all obese individuals, but there is limited understanding of the impact of these messages on obese adults. This descriptive qualitative study using in-depth interviews and a thematic method of analysis, compares the health beliefs and behaviors of 141 Australian adults with mild to moderate (BMI 30−39.9) and severe (BMI ≥ 40) obesity. Mildly obese individuals felt little need to change their health behaviors or to lose weight for health reasons. Most believed they could “lose weight” if they needed to, distanced themselves from the word obesity, and …