Negotiating body self-concept in Iranian women living with obesity: A qualitative phenomenological study

Background: Body self-concept is vital to psychological well-being, yet little is known about how women living with obesity in non-Western contexts, particularly Iran, negotiate their bodily identities amidst familial and gendered expectations. Methods: This descriptive phenomenological study explored body self-concept among 48 Iranian women with obesity using purposive maximum-variation sampling, including 24 treatment-seeking and 24 non-treatment participants. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed via Colaizzi's method, supported by reflexive and validation procedures. Results: Body self-concept emerged as a continuously negotiated, relational, and multilayered process. It is shaped by inner disruptions of the lived body, social visibility, life-course bodilychanges, psychobehavioural dynamics, and intergenerational influences. Participants experienced identity negotiation, self-surveillance, and stigma management within familial and social contexts, often marked by moral judgment and ambivalence toward change. Conclusions: Body self-concept is co-constructed through culturally embedded relational processes. Findings highlight the need for context-sensitive, stigma-reducing, and family-aware approaches in obesity care.