Perception of Obesity in Adult Women

Obesity is a health problem that has increased since 1975. For this reason, to treat the disease, a transdisciplinary intervention is needed, however, this problem can be affected by the perception that people have about obesity, because the way people see and approach the problem is influenced by the sociocultural environment.

Objective: to know what is the perception and approach that adult women from 19 to 49 years of age have about obesity.

Methods: qualitative ethno-methodological study through an in-depth interview that included 6 adult women from 19 to 49 years of age whit diagnosed obesity from Mixquiahuala, Hidalgo. The data was then analyzed with the ATLAS.ti software.

Results: people may understand that obesity is a problem, and identify methods to control body weight, however, some tend to minimize the problem, making it difficult for them to achieve satisfactory results, and may face physical and social difficulties because of the weight excess they live with.

Conclusion: People are aware of obesity; as well as different strategies for its treatment, however, they do not consider it a health problem, even minimizing it. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies that allow people to identify obesity as a disease associated to health risks.