Men living with obesity in New Zealand: What does this mean for health care in general practice?

Introduction: More men than women live with overweight and obesity in New Zealand, yet we know little about their everyday lives or their weight management experiences in primary care. This study sought to link the weight management experiences of these men in primary care, with their experiences of life in general as big men.

Methods: Semi-structured interviews with participants selected purposively based on a priori criteria were conducted. Interviews were either face to face or via telephone. Interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed and text coded into a priori codes where established.

Results: Fourteen men were interviewed. Analysis of text data revealed three overarching themes. The first, social experience of life as a big man highlighted the significance of social transitions as times of weight gain. The second theme related to experiences of weight management in primary care, with communication the largest sub-theme. Finally, stigma materialised as a key and widespread issue.

Conclusion: Scant attention has been paid to the experiences of overweight and obese men in primary care or the impact of their size on their daily lives. Effective, tailored communication by health professionals in primary care is sorely needed. Times of social transition can be exploited as appropriate instances to offer advice on effective strategies to reduce the risk of weight gain. Men also need to be made aware of their vulnerability for weight gain at these times through effective, gender specific health promotion messages. The widespread nature of stigmatising experiences within personal networks was a concerning finding.