Living with Obesity: Men's experience of losing and gaining weight and the implications of policy and services

Seminar abstract

Drawing on interview data of 29 men’s experiences of living with obesity in an everyday sense, where they are exposed to the symbolic persecution of being labelled a failed citizen, and their perspectives and stories of engaging with and resisting weight management practices.

This presentation explores some of the identified associations between weight gain and work-related stressors and strains.

These included the cultures of specific occupations, patterning of work hours, increased status, pressures and expectations of promotion and the consequences of earning more money. While such experiences were attached to specific life course stages, they were also frequently associated with men adopting the identity of family providers.

Therefore, during their thirties, and early forties for some of those who became fathers slightly later in life, most of the men set about earning as much money as possible and sacrificed taking care of themselves in the process.

Although, experiences of an increasingly intense work life were not restricted to only those who were fathers, as men without children also found themselves subject to expectations from employers to become more ambitious and take on extra responsibility in their work roles at this stage of life.

Data was also especially revealing in the context of the men’s work lives as interviews were conducted between March 2020 and December 2020 following the outbreak of COVID-19 and during the subsequent lockdown periods.

As a result, some interviewees had been or were in the process of being furloughed or made redundant from work at the time of interview. Thus, the research also considers how the findings contribute to the existing evidence base concerning weight gain and loss of employment.

How to attend this seminar

This seminar is free to attend with no need to register in advance.

Please join this seminar online on Wednesday 20 October 2021 at 12pm

We welcome you to join with your friends, colleagues and classmates.

Speaker bio

John Day is currently the Research Manager at Healthwatch Essex and a Visiting Fellow of the School of Health and Social Care at the University of Essex.

He holds a PhD from Canterbury Christ Church University and has designed, conducted and disseminated substantive qualitative research studies in the areas of physical activity and men’s experiences of living with obesity.

He is in the process of writing and publishing papers from both studies in peer-reviewed journals in the sociology of health and sport, which reflect his research interests more broadly.

Studies conducted by the research team that he leads at Healthwatch have been funded by the UKRI, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust and the National Lottery Community Fund.

John also teaches qualitative research design for Healthwatch England and will join the University of Essex as a Lecturer in the School of Health and Social Care in December.