Objective To develop an in-depth picture of both lived experience of obesity and the impact of socio-cultural factors on people living with obesity.Design Qualitative methodology, utilizing in-depth semi-structured interviews with a community sample of obese adults (body mass index ‡30). Community sampling methods were supplemented with purposive sampling techniques to ensure a diverse range of individuals were included.Results Seventy-six individuals (aged 16-72) were interviewed. Most had struggled with their weight for most of their lives (n = 45). Almost all had experienced stigma and discrimination in childhood (n = 36), as adolescents (n = 41) or as adults (n = 72). About half stated that they had been humiliated by health professionals because of their weight. Participants felt an individual responsibility to lose weight, and many tried extreme forms of dieting to do so. Participants described an increasing culture of ÔblameÕ against people living with obesity perpetuated by media and public health messages. Eighty percent said that they hated or disliked the word obesity and would rather be called fat or overweight.Discussion and Conclusion There are four key conclusions: (i) the experiences of obesity are diverse, but there are common themes, (ii) people living with obesity have heard the messages but find it difficult to act upon them, (iii) interventions should be tailored to address both individual and community needs and (iv) we need to rethink how to approach obesity interventions to ensure that avoid recapitulating damaging social stereotypes and exacerbating social inequalities.

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BackgroundOnline social networks offer considerable potential for delivery of socially influential health behavior change interventions.ObjectiveTo determine the efficacy, engagement, and feasibility of an online social networking physical activity intervention with pedometers delivered via Facebook app.MethodsA total of 110 adults with a mean age of 35.6 years (SD 12.4) were recruited online in teams of 3 to 8 friends. Teams were randomly allocated to receive access to a 50-day online social networking physical activity intervention which included self-monitoring, social elements, and pedometers (“Active Team” Facebook app; n=51 individuals, 12 teams) or a wait-listed control condition (n=59 individuals, 13 teams). Assessments were undertaken online at baseline, 8 weeks, and 20 weeks. The primary outcome measure was self-reported weekly moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Secondary outcomes were weekly walking, vigorous physical activity time, moderate physical activity time, overall quality of life, and mental health quality of life. Analyses were undertaken using random-effects mixed modeling, accounting for potential clustering at the team level. Usage statistics were reported descriptively to determine engagement and feasibility.ResultsAt the 8-week follow-up, the intervention participants had significantly increased their total weekly MVPA by 135 minutes relative to the control group (P=.03), due primarily to increases in walking time (155 min/week increase relative to controls, P<.001). However, statistical differences between groups for total weekly MVPA and walking time were lost at the 20-week follow-up. There were no significant changes in vigorous physical activity, nor overall quality of life or mental health quality of life at either time point. High levels of engagement with the intervention, and particularly the self-monitoring features, were observed.ConclusionsAn online, social networking physical activity intervention with pedometers can produce sizable short-term physical activity changes. Future work is needed to determine how to maintain behavior change in the longer term, how to reach at-need populations, and how to disseminate such interventions on a mass scale.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR): ACTRN12614000488606; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=366239 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6ZVtu6TMz).

Background: To explore the extent to which people living with obesity have attempted to lose weight, their attitudes towards dieting, physical exercise and weight loss solutions, why their weight loss attempts have failed, and their opinions about what would be most beneficial to them in their struggle with their weight.

Australia's humanitarian programme contributes to UNHCR's global resettlement programme and enhances Australia's international humanitarian reputation. However, as the recent tragedy on Christmas Island has shown, the arrival of asylum seekers by boat continues to stimulate debate, discussion and reaction from the Australian public and the Australian media. In this study, we used a mixed methods community survey to understand community perceptions and attitudes relating to asylum seekers. We found that while personal contact with asylum seekers was important when forming opinions about this group of immigrants, for the majority of respondents, attitudes and opinions towards asylum seekers were more influenced by the interplay between traditional Australian values and norms, the way that these norms appeared to be threatened by asylum seekers, and the way that these threats were reinforced both in media and political rhetoric.