The subjective experience of the relationship with food in a overweight female sample

Abstract

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore overweight women’s experiences, subjective meaning of eating and personal relationship with food. Data for analysis was generated from the semi-structured interviews of four women with Body Mass Index (BMI) 27-31 kg/m2. The interviews were audio taped, transcribed verbatim and then analyzed using the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) method. The emergent themes were classified into five superordinate themes: Food and Eating; Personal Meaning of Food; Eating Alone vs Social Eating; Maladaptive Features of this relationship and Control Issues. According to these results, the overweight female participants’ relationship with food is highly complex. To be specific, the participants 1) fail to take proper care of nutrition; 2) do not take initiative over their eating habits, and 3) try to control food consumption in different ways. The findings of this study may be considered by health and mental health professionals in designing and running treatment programs for overweight population.