Girls' Experiences Regarding Obesity: A Qualitative Study in Iraq

Obesity among girls can cause physical, psychological, or social problems. Different cultures have different lifestyle and dietary habits which affect people's experience about obesity. This study aimed to assess girls' experience toward obesity.

In 2023, a qualitative conventional content analysis method was used in this study to meet the study's objective in Baghdad and Babylon, Iraq. A probability purposive sampling method was used to gather the sample from three high schools in two cities across Iraq. The main question of the interview was follows: how do girls think about their body weight? A total of 29 girls participated in the study. Four girls withdrew, so 25 girls were included in data analysis using Saldana's coding method.

The data revealed three themes: perceptions about body weight, community insight toward features of the body, and attitudes about body weight.

Iraqi teenage girls have different perceptions regarding obesity. Even their satisfactions about their body weight varies. Increasing teenage girls' awareness about obesity can play a crucial role in changing their perceptions toward obesity. Conducting further studies is recommended to find out the relationships between Iraqi girls' experience and factors that lead to obesity.