Being active when living within a large body: experiences during lifestyle intervention

ABSTRACT

Background: In-depth understanding of the experiences of both well-being and suffering in relation to being severely obese and becoming active through lifestyle intervention is lacking.

Aim: to explore and describe adults’ existential experiences of being active, when living within a large body—before and during a lifestyle intervention.

Methods: A longitudinal design of repeated individual interviews with 16 adults with BMI ≥40, based on hermeneutic phenomenology, existential philosophy and a theory of well-being was performed. The study was approved by the Danish health authorities.

Results: Two dimensions of experiences were found; “Living within a downward spiral” and “Striving for enjoyment and settlement”. The themes describing suffering were: ‘Sense of being thwarted and defeated ‘ and “Tackling energy depletion and impact of sense of self”. The themes describing well-being were: “Hoping for renewal and energised resoluteness” and “Enduring discomfort and feeling safe”.

Conclusions: Interacting existential experiences can be facilitators or barriers for physical activity. It seems relevant for health care providers to address the individual’s lifeworld experiences of well-being, lack of well-being and suffering. Well-being as a sense of feeling “at home” when physically active may break down an inactivity spiral. Promoting well-being is a legitimate aim of lifestyle intervention.

KEYWORDS:

• Adults
• experience
• hermeneutics
• life style
• lifeworld
• obesity
• physical activity
• qualitative study
• well-being

Acknowledgments

We thank all the participants who shared their experiences in the interviews. We thank Lene Lindholm for all her help with including patients and transcribing interviews, Line Jensen for language revision and Birgit Rasmussen for discussing the project.

Disclosure Statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Approval

The study was approved by The Danish Data Protection Agency (J. no. 1-16-2-425-15) and The Central Denmark Region Committees on Health Research Ethics and was performed in compliance with the Helsinki Declaration (World Medical Association, 2002) and The Danish Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (Aarhus University, 2015).

Additional information

Funding

Aarhus University has contributed with financial support.

Notes on contributors

Bente Skovsby Toft

Bente Skovsby Toft is a PhD and physiotherapist practitioner with years of experience in working with individuals with obesity at the Department of Lifestyle Rehabilitation.

Kathleen Galvin

Kathleen Galvin is a British professor, nurse and researcher in lifeworld theory and author of the conceptual framework of the dwelling-mobility lattice.

Claus Vinther Nielsen

Claus Vinther Nielsen is a professor, physician and researcher in rehabilitation.

Lisbeth Uhrenfeldt

Lisbeth Uhrenfeldt is a professor, nurse and an expert qualitative researcher working with philosophy, methodology, method and implementation of evidence-based guidance for clinical health care practice.