Narrative and obesity: Managing weight stigma associated with bariatric surgery.

The present study examined how individuals who have been clinically diagnosed as obese explain their decision to undergo bariatric surgery and how they deal with the stigmatization that such a decision may entail. A total of 23 participants (15 women and 8 men) who were awaiting bariatric surgery within the Spanish healthcare system, were interviewed about their weight trajectory and their decision to undergo this surgery. In order to examine the participants' stories, a narrative analysis of the interviews was conducted, with attention to both content ( they told) and structure ( they told) and examining the stories in line with the socially and culturally available narratives that they had access to, and the context in which the stories were produced.