Representações do estigma do peso por estudantes de nutrição

Abstract

This dissertation had as general objective to understand how the representations of the experience of being overweight in nutrition students happen. Awaiting the requirement of the program for the realization of two articles, this dissertation is composed of two parts. Study 1 is a systematic literature review, approved for publication by the “Jornal Brasileiro de Psiquiatria” (ISSN 1982- 0208), which aimed to understand the repercussions of the social stigma of overweight on the health of adults and adolescents. The bibliographic search took place in the databases PubMed, Psycinfo, SciELO, Medline, Lilacs and Pepsic, considering the period from 2000 to 2020. 67 articles were imposed, in which 4 categories emerged: repercussions on physical well-being; repercussions on social well-being; repercussions on mental well-being; and mixed category (physical and psychological impact). In the vast majority of studies, the stigma of weight has a negative impact on the different spheres that make up the construction of health: physical, social and mental. These consequences are a source of suffering, in such a range that the quality of life occurs, which goes through situations of stigmatization, both in physical, emotional and social. Study 2 was a qualitative empirical study that sought to understand the representations of the experience of being overweight in nutrition students. Participated in the research 10 undergraduate students in nutrition, all female, with average age and BMI of 24.9 years (SD = 4.6) and 33.6 (SD = 4.7) Kg.m2. The data were perceived through the Thematic Analysis by Braun and Clarke, identifying 32 units of record organized in 8 subthemes and 4 categories, which are: 1) Building the representations of living with excess weight; 2) Recognizing and representing the fat body; 3) The fat body within the nutrition course: appearance versus competence; 4) The other side of the coin: the nutrition course as a possibility for support. The excess weight experienced by nutrition students was represented in a negative way, anchored in discrimination, prejudice and suffering linked to the stigma of weight. Through the studies it was possible to measure the extent of physical, psychological, cognitive, emotional and social suffering of people who live daily with the stigma of weight, especially nutrition students.