Table 2 Key themes and participants views
Themes | Obese | Overweight | Normal |
|---|---|---|---|
Causes of overweight | |||
Men | • Unhealthy diet/over-eating • Physical inactivity • Socio-economics status • Genetic make-up | • Unhealthy diet, • Lack of physical exercises • Fatness is culturally desirable | • Poor eating habits (junk food) • Cultural events |
Women | • Over consumption of food • Eating fatty, junk and sugary foods • Inaccessibility to vegetables and fruits • Stress • Obesity comes with age • Cultural influences | • Stress • Over consumption of food • Eating fatty, junk and sugary foods • Lack of vegetables and fruits • Genetic make-up | • Poor eating habits • Unavailability of organic food • Genetic make-up • Cultural influences |
Attitudes towards thinness and overweight | |||
Men | • Thinness attributed to sickness or disease • Overweight is culturally acceptable • Overweight associated with happiness • Excessive body fat is not desirable | • Fatness attributed to laziness, tiredness and drowsiness • Much fat can be ‘unhealthy’ • Overweight is culturally acceptable • Overweight associated with happiness | • Being skinny makes you smart, healthy and good shape • Overweight socially acceptable • Overweight associated with happiness and respect |
Women | • Overweight denotes good health, dignity, happiness and respect • Thinness indicates sickness, stress, unhappiness • Associates being thin to beauty and attractive to men | • Overweight is considered ‘normal’ weight/body size • Overweight associated with happiness; Obesity not a problem if inherited • Thin people are stigmatized | • Fatness means happiness • Too much ‘fatness’ can cause sicknesses |
Body size perceptions | |||
Men | • Unhappy with current weight/size • Uncomfortable with gaining more weight | • Satisfy with body weight • Others desire slim body sizes | • Prefer slim body size • Others desire little increase in weight |
• Larger silhouettes size 7–14 (overweight/obese categories) chosen as ideal normal size for a woman, and smaller silhouettes size 4–9 (normal/overweight) as ideal for a man | |||
• Underestimate body size | • Underestimate body size | • Accurately estimate body size | |
Women | • Perceive current size as ‘normal’ size • Happy with current body weight/size • Grossly obese desired reduced weight—if reported personal gains of weight loss | • Desire larger body size/weight gain • Desire no weight gain—if previously suffered chronic disease. | • Dissatisfy with current body size • Desire to be overweight |
• Women chose silhouettes size 13–15 (obese) as ideal for a woman and less than size 13 (overweight or normal) for a man • Obesity is associated with women; and ‘normal’ weight associated with men | |||
Susceptibility to obesity | |||
Men | Not applicablea | • Vulnerable if happy and wealthy | • Susceptible to overweight if indulge in overconsumption of food |
Women | Not applicablea | • Vulnerable to obesity if indulge in unhealthy eating | • Believe of not being susceptible |
Perceived obesity risk and threat of cardiovascular diseases | |||
Men | • Perceived obesity as threat to health • Obesity leads to chronic conditions—high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and arthritis | • Chronic non-communicable disease, physical impairment, and regular pains • Obesity can lead to heart attack, • Being skinny equated to less or no health problems | • At risk of cardiovascular diseases • Obesity is not good at old age • Being fat leads to hypertension, heart attack, too much sleep |
Women | • Obesity is attributed to laziness, sluggishness, stigma, and tiredness, difficulty getting size of clothing to buy • Associate obesity to diabetes and hypertension | • Low perceptions of threat • Excessive weight could cause chronic illnesses, and inactivity | • Attributes diabetes, stroke, hypertension and heart attack to overweight |
Willingness to lose weight | |||
Men | • Indicated intention to lose weight | • Desire for personal weight loss, or maintain current body size | • Currently undertakes job-related physical activities to maintain weight |
Women | • Willing to lose weight in order to reduce health risk | • Intention to gain weight/maintain current weight | • Strong intention to gain more weight |