Body weight and aging self-perception of adult and older women who underwent bariatric surgery. A Public Health policies issue

Abstract

The literature suggests that obesity mirrors some aspects of aging, but little is known whether body weight can contribute to one’s self-perception of aging. We aimed to qualitatively understand the self-perception of aging of adult and older adult women who underwent bariatric surgery, both at the present time and at the time of the procedure. We conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with 15 adult and 15 older adult women. Data were analyzed identifying the regular, expressive, and meaningful significance units collected through the interviews. Three major aspects influenced the participants’ aging perceptions: 1) The process of undergoing bariatric surgery; 2) the way they presented themselves and acted in the world (feeling a sense of independence, capacity, youthfulness, and having a certain attitude) and 3) their excessive weight before the bariatric surgery. Ageism and weight stigma were intricated in our participants’ experiences, leading them to wish distance from negative labels about aging and fatness. It is high time that the public sphere proposes public politics to the population with obesity that is algo getting older. Thus, our data can help policymakers to consider interactions between age and obesity.