Understanding the gendered nature of weight loss surgery: insights from an Australian qualitative study

ABSTRACT

Internationally, weight loss surgery is primarily undertaken by women (75%). This difference has been attributed to the appearance concerns of women which is a simplistic and unsatisfactory explanation. The study aims to explore the way gender influences the processes leading up to surgery and life after surgery providing important new insights into the differences in uptake of weight loss surgery between men and women. Ten single-gender focus groups were conducted in Australia in 2014 (Women = 32, Men = 17). Aspects of particular importance for understanding the gendered nature of weight loss surgery include different understandings of the mechanisms that contribute to weight gain, the relationship with food, experiences of having a big body and approaches to disclosure of surgery. To maximise outcomes following surgery, health services and supports need to give greater consideration to the way gender influences experiences for men and women pre and post-surgery.

KEYWORDS:

• Obesity
• gender
• weight loss surgery
• bariatric surgery
• focus groups
• Australia

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the focus group participants for their time and willingness to participate. We would like to thank Ms Tessa Batt for transcribing the focus group discussions, Mr Zahid Desai for his assistance with the recruitment of recipients of publicly funded bariatric surgery and Dr Emily Hansen for her comments on early versions of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council under Partnership Project [grant number APP1076899].