Abstract
Objective:
Awareness on the obese people’s perception of their own body image.
Methods:
A qualitative research performed in an outpatient clinic accompanying people with excess weight, in Salvador-BA. Interviews were carried out with 19 people diagnosed as obese. The information was submitted to thematic content analysis.
Results:
Three categories emerged from the analysis: Depreciated body revealed with deformed, deteriorated features, modulated outside esthetical and moral standards; Suffering the weight of living in an obese body expressed the predicament of the interaction between a disfigured body and the social world; Identifying with the body revealed acceptance, not feeling upset by the social pressures on the ideal standards for the body.
Conclusion:
Perception about the body reflected above all a negative image accompanies by sadness, shame and isolation. Obesity affects the wellbeing and living with an obese body demands the exercise of acceptance in an environment which considers it a moral failure.
Keywords:
Body image; Obesity; Self Concept; Nursing