The enigma of weight: Figures, flux, and fitting in

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dc.contributor.authorWong, Katherine
dc.contributor.authorMyre, Maxine
dc.contributor.authorMoules, Nancy J.
dc.contributor.authorLefebvre, Danielle
dc.contributor.authorMorhun, Janelle M.
dc.contributor.authorSaunders, Jessica F.
dc.contributor.authorEstefan, Andrew
dc.contributor.authorRussell-Mayhew, Shelly
dc.date.accessioned2024-06-11T16:32:45Z
dc.date.available2024-06-11T16:32:45Z
dc.date.issued2022-10-19
dc.descriptionWong, K., Myre, M., Moules, N. J., Lefebvre, D., Morhun, J. M., Saunders, J. F., Estefan, A., & Russell-Mayhew, S. (2022). The enigma of weight: Figures, flux, and fitting in. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 930360.
dc.description.abstractPurpose: In Western society, the measurement of weight is prioritized over a person’s bodily experience. Hermeneutic philosopher Gadamer warned against the emphasis on measurement, rather than experience, in the medical sciences. An examination of the complexity of the experience of weight provides the opportunity to shift focus from quantifying the connection between health and weight to the experience of the person being weighed. Methods: This qualitative hermeneutic study aims to understand people’s experiences of weight from the interviews of professionals (n = 7) and lay experts (n = 10). Interviews were analyzed using an interpretive hermeneutic method. Results: The interviews revealed that weight was experienced as a number imbued with meaning and bias, as a number that could be manipulated, and as a constant and anticipated bodily change. Weight change was expected and often unwelcomed, despite weight being a quality of the body that is always in flux. External measures of weight meant to monitor wellness and health inadvertently became an unhealthy fixation that prevented some participants from fully participating in life events and appreciating the stages their bodies were in. Conclusion: Weight change is a necessary condition of being human, and bodies are and will be constantly changing. To achieve health and harmony, one must fit together the acceptance of change and their bodily experience of weight. It is often the preoccupation with weight, not weight itself, that gets in the way of living.
dc.description.grantingagencySocial Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)
dc.identifier.citationWong, K., Myre, M., Moules, N. J., Lefebvre, D., Morhun, J. M., Saunders, J. F., Estefan, A., & Russell-Mayhew, S. (2022). The enigma of weight: Figures, flux, and fitting in. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.930360
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.930360
dc.identifier.grantnumber435–2018-0116
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1880/118892
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/46489
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherFrontiers
dc.publisher.facultyWerklund School of Educationen
dc.publisher.hasversionpublishedVersion
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.policyhttps://www.frontiersin.org/about/open-access
dc.rights© 2022 Wong, Myre, Moules, Lefebvre, Morhun, Saunders, Estefan and Russell-Mayhew. Unless otherwise indicated, this material is protected by copyright and has been made available with authorization from the copyright owner. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectweight
dc.subjectbody image
dc.subjectbody perception
dc.subjectbodily experience
dc.subjectexperience of weight
dc.subjectweight change
dc.subjectphilosophical hermeneutics
dc.subjecthermeneutic research
dc.titleThe enigma of weight: Figures, flux, and fitting in
dc.typeArticle
ucalgary.scholar.levelGraduate, Faculty
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