A Qualitative Study on Individuals with Obesity: What do They Experience? How do They Feel? What are Their Expectations?

Aim: Obesity is one of the important problems of the age. In this article, it was aimed to determine the experiences of individuals living with obesity in Konya province, their efforts to cope with obesity and their suggestions for the field. Material and Methods: This is a qualitative study. May July 2022 Research data were collected through in-depth individual face-toface interviews. Traditional qualitative data analysis and Colaizzi's phenomenological interpretation method were used. This study was reported in accordance with the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) guidelines. The participants were individuals with obesity. Results and Conclusion: The sample consisted of 12 people. The average age of the individuals was 56.58±7.07 years, body mass index (BMI) was 48.69±10.41 and the majority (83.3%) were women. The experiences of individuals were collected under a total of 370 codes, including 14 categories and five themes. It has been determined that individuals with obesity have physical, psychological problems and negative experiences such as stigma. Environmental regulations and raising the awareness of health personnel can reduce the disadvantages experienced by obese individuals.