Weight stigma after bariatric surgery: A qualitative study with Brazilian women.

Prior studies suggest that one anticipated benefit of bariatric surgery is the achievement of a thinner body, one that is less subject to perceived negative judgment and condemnation by others. However, additional analyses also indicate that stigma may persist even with significant post-surgery weight loss. To investigate the stigma-related perceptions and experiences of women who have undergone bariatric surgery and the resulting body transformations, we conducted individual, semi-structured interviews with thirty Brazilian women (15 aged 33-59 and 15 aged 63-72). The resulting text was then analyzed using thematic analysis. We found that some form of weight stigma persisted for our participants, regardless of weight loss. Ongoing experiences of stigma were also evidenced by the constant internal and external vigilance reported by the women, as well as their articulated efforts to distance themselves from their previous bodies. Additionally, participants reported being judged for choosing an "easy way out" to lose weight. Those in the older group reported that weight stigma was entangled with ageism: older participants received mixed messages underscoring the ways that weight and age may interact in doubly stigmatizing ways. Family and close peers were especially powerful sources of stigma experiences. Collectively, these results show that weight stigma persists even when people undergo a procedure to lose substantive weight and that the degree and types of stigma experiences are influenced by gender and age. Our study suggest future research should explore whether a targeted approach might be more effective, for example, an approach that would emphasize the importance of developing coping strategies with respect to experiences of stigma and discrimination after surgery.

Food Classifications by Brazilian Amazon Mothers: Interactions With Eating Practices.

OBJECTIVE: To assess how mothers classify foods and how their eating practices interact with these classifications, with special attention to meanings and uses given to ultra-processed foods. DESIGN: Qualitative research with in-depth interviews and pile sorts. SETTING: Urban Brazilian Amazon. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 34 mothers were selected through theoretical sampling. ANALYSIS: Content analysis for in-depth interviews and multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis for pile sorts. PHENOMENON OF INTEREST: Food classification. RESULTS: Classifications were based on context (ie, a time or a situation in which the food is eaten) and foods' healthiness. Five food groupings based on mothers' classifications were defined: (1) main meal foods, (2) fruits and fruit juices, (3) convenient foods, (4) leisure foods, and (5) canned sardines. Ultra-processed foods were classified differently from non-ultra-processed foods and considered unhealthy, consumed on special occasions or when there was no time or desire to cook. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Results highlight the potential of incorporating context-based categories and personal experiences to guide nutrition interventions and the potential of pile sorts to tailor messages to target populations.

"The architecture of the state was transformed in favour of the interests of companies": corporate political activity of the food industry in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: In Colombia, public health policies to improve food environments, including front-of-pack nutrition labelling and marketing restrictions for unhealthy products, are currently under development. Opposition to these policies by the food industry is currently delaying and weakening these efforts. This opposition is commonly known as 'corporate political activity' (CPA) and includes instrumental (action-based) strategies and discursive (argument-based) strategies. Our aim was to identify the CPA of the food industry in Colombia. METHODS: We conducted a document analysis of information available in the public domain published between January-July 2019. We triangulated this data with interviews with 17 key informants. We used a deductive approach to data analysis, based on an existing framework for the CPA of the food industry. RESULTS: We identified 275 occurrences of CPA through our analysis of publicly available information. There were 197 examples of instrumental strategies and 138 examples of discursive strategies (these categories are not mutually exclusive, 60 examples belong to both categories). Interview participants also shared information about the CPA in the country. The industry used its discursive strategies to portray the industry in a 'better light', demonstrating its efforts in improving food environments and its role in the economic development of the country. The food industry was involved in several community programmes, including through public private initiatives. The industry also captured the media and tried to influence the science on nutrition and non-communicable diseases. Food industry actors were highly prominent in the policy sphere, through their lobbying, close relationships with high ranking officials and their support for self-regulation in the country. CONCLUSIONS: The proximity between the industry, government and the media is particularly evident and remains largely unquestioned in Colombia. The influence of vulnerable populations in communities and feeling of insecurity by public health advocates is also worrisome. In Colombia, the CPA of the food industry has the potential to weaken and delay efforts to develop and implement public health policies that could improve the healthiness of food environments. It is urgent that mechanisms to prevent and manage the influence of the food industry are developed in the country.

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the relevance, clarity, and comprehensibility of the Scale of Quality of Diet (ESQUADA)

The study of the diet quality should include not just the nutritional adequacy but also incorporate the multidimensional understanding and the current dietary recommendations. This study aimed to evaluate the relevance, clarity, and comprehensibility of the Scale of Quality of Diet (ESQUADA). Nutritionists' perspectives about the relevance and clarity of the items were evaluated through focus groups between November and December 2016. An exploratory content analysis investigated the themes that emerged from the focus groups, which were organized in a structured codebook. Two reviewers applied it to the data. Inter-rater reliability was analyzed by the kappa coefficient. The coding was analyzed using the frequencies and central aspects of the sub-themes. Laypersons' comprehension of the items was evaluated using a question regarding whether they understood each item in online questionnaire in February 2018. Descriptive statistics investigated the comprehensibility of each item. The reviewers presented adequate reliability on coding the data. Three themes emerged from the data considering the nutritionists' suggestions. The theme Item relevance indicated that the items assessed diet quality while considering sociocultural influences. However, the nutritionists suggested attention was needed to how some items were expressed and their response options. Of relevance, the themes Item clarity and Clarity of alternatives primarily encompassed discussions regarding item text (44%) and discrimination of alternatives (24%). The study of the comprehensibility indicated that all items were readily understood. These results support the relevance of the ESQUADA for evaluating quality of diet as well the comprehensibility of all the items by individuals uneducated in public health(AU)

El estudio de la calidad de la dieta debe incluir la adecuación nutricional además sus dimensiones y las recomendaciones dietéticas actuales. Este estudio evaluó la relevancia, claridad y comprensibilidad de la Escala de Calidad de la Dieta (ESQUADA). Las perspectivas de los nutricionistas sobre la relevancia y claridad de los ítems se evaluaron en grupos focales entre noviembre y diciembre de 2016. Un análisis de contenido exploratorio investigó los temas que surgieron de los grupos. Estos temas fueron ordenados en un libro de códigos estructurado. Dos revisores lo aplicaron a los datos. La fiabilidad inter-evaluadores fue analizada por el coeficiente kappa. La codificación se analizó utilizando las frecuencias y aspectos centrales de los subtemas. La comprensión de los ítems por personas sin conocimientos de nutrición se evaluó mediante una pregunta sobre el entendimiento de cada ítem en uno cuestionario online in febrero de 2018. Las estadísticas descriptivas investigaron la comprensibilidad de cada ítem. Los revisores presentaron adecuada fiabilidad en la codificación de los datos. Tres temas surgieron de los datos. El tema Relevancia del ítem indicó que los ítems evaluaron la calidad de la dieta mientras consideraban las influencias socioculturales. Sin embargo, los nutricionistas sugirieron la necesidad de atención en el texto de algunos ítems y sus opciones de respuesta. Los temas Claridad del ítem y Claridad de las opciones abarcaron principalmente las discusiones sobre el texto del ítem (44%) y la discriminación de las opciones (24%). El estudio de la comprensibilidad indicó que todos los ítems se entendían fácilmente. Estos resultados apoyan la relevancia de ESQUADA para evaluar la calidad de la dieta y la comprensión de todos los ítems por personas sin conocimientos de nutrición(AU)

Eating practices among low-income overweight /obese Brazilian mothers: a Bourdieusian approach.

We investigated the eating practices of socially vulnerable overweight and obese Brazilian mothers, exploring the relationships between eating practices, capitals, fields and excess-weight. We conducted a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews of 21 women living in three vulnerable urban regions. Content analyses were performed and codes were used to locate actors in relation to each other in terms of 'capitals' and 'fields', forming a typology based on Bourdieu's theory with five groups. Socioeconomic conditions during childhood and liking to cook were the main characteristics related to each group's distinct eating practices. While socioeconomic conditions during childhood were related to region of origin and food tastes, liking to cook worked as a type of cultural capital, called culinary capital, which produced pleasure and status. For each pattern of eating practices, different factors seemed to contribute to participants' excess weight, including liked foods, enjoying cooking, and financial constraints. One group combined a highly vulnerable economic situation and health problems, shedding light onto a habitus that demands special attention from public health studies and interventions. This study illustrates the complexity of practices within a seemingly homogeneous group and reinforces that health studies should not assume homogeneity within a group of overweight/obese low-income women.

Strategies used by overweight and obese low-income mothers to feed their families in urban Brazil.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and compare strategies adopted by overweight and obese low-income mothers living in different vulnerable contexts to deal with food constraints and feed their families. DESIGN: Qualitative in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed with exploratory content analysis and the number of segments per theme was used to compare neighborhoods. SETTING: Three low-income neighborhoods in Santos, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: A purposive sample of 21 overweight or obese mothers. RESULTS: We identified three main types of strategies, namely, food acquisition, cooking, and eating. Food acquisition included social support and food-sourcing strategies. Social support strategies ranged from macro (governmental programs) to micro (family) levels. Food-sourcing strategies involved price research and use of credit to buy foods. Cooking approaches included optimizing food (e.g., adding water to beans), avoiding wastefulness, and substitutions (e.g., using water instead of milk when making cakes). Eating themes ranged from lack of quantity to lack of quality. Strategies to deal with the lack of food were affected by family dynamics, such as prioritizing provision of fruits to children. Food choices (e.g., low consumption of fruits and high consumption of fatty meats) derived from strategies may help promote overweight and obesity. Furthermore, for participants, financial constraints were perceived as barriers to following nutritionists' recommendations and weight loss. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the barriers that low-income women face in adopting a healthy diet and sheds light on the importance of the symbolic value of food, even in the context of food insecurity. Finally, it suggests that environmental aspects could increase the accessibility to fruits and vegetables. These findings could be used to inform the planning and implementation of interventions.

Changing attitudes, beliefs and feeling towards food in bulimic patients / Modificação das atitudes, crenças e sentimentos para com os alimentos em pacientes com bulimia nervosa

Eating attitudes are defined as beliefs, thoughts, feelings and behaviors towards food. Bulimia nervosa (BN) is an eating disorder, in which the eating attitudes are seriously disturbed. Studies that evaluated nutritional aspects of BN focus mainly on food intake, dietary restriction and binge eating, while the follow-up studies evaluate mainly clinical symptoms. The objective of this study was to evaluate eating attitudes of patients with BN, during and after cognitive-behavioral intervention. Thirty nine (39) BN female patients received cognitive behavioral treatment with a multidisciplinary team and had eating attitudes assessed by a questionnaire developed for this research. Frequencies of the attitudes assessed were compared at baseline, after 12 weeks and 24 weeks of treatment. After treatment, patients had less distorted beliefs about food, less guilty after eating “forbidden” foods and they felt more tranquil while eating outside home. Other negative behaviors, as dietary restriction, the desire of not eat, being angry when feeling hungry and using the food to relive stress, persisted. Eating attitudes of patients with BN are hard to be changed in a short-term. More attention to this disease’s component and new approaches to treatment are needed in order to have a better recovery.

Atitudes alimentares são definidas como crenças, pensamentos, sentimentos e comportamentos para com os alimentos. Bulimia Nervosa (BN) é um transtorno alimentar no qual as atitudes alimentares estão seriamente perturbadas. Os estudos que avaliam aspectos nutricionais centram sua atenção principalmente na ingestão alimentar, restrição alimentar e compulsão alimentar, e os estudos de seguimento avaliam essencialmente os sintomas clínicos. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar as atitudes alimentares de pacientes com BN durante e depois de uma intervenção cognitivo comportamental. Trinta e nove (39) pacientes do sexo feminino receberam tratamento cognitivo comportamental com equipe multidisciplinar e tiveram suas atitudes alimentares avaliadas por um instrumento desenvolvido para esta investigação. A freqüência de diferentes atitudes foi comparada antes, depois de 12 semanas e 24 semanas de tratamento. Depois do tratamento as pacientes apresentaram menos crenças distorcidas sobre alimentação, menos culpa depois de ingerir alimentos “proibidos” e demonstraram mais tranqüilidade para comer fora de casa. Outras atitudes negativas, como restrição alimentar, o desejo de não comer, a raiva de sentir fome e usar o alimento para aliviar questões emocionais persistiram. Conclui-se que as atitudes alimentares de pacientes con BN são difíceis de serem modificadas em curto prazo. Maior atenção a este componente do distúrbio e novas formas de tratamento são necessárias para obter uma recuperação mais completa.