| dc.description | The goal of this research is to provide an analysis of the messages a variety of sources provide to young people interested in or pursuing bariatric surgery. In doing so, one can begin to untangle the variety of pressures that young obese people face at every stage of the bariatric process. To guide this goal, I have formed the following research questions: Will different forms of media and literature include depictions of the qualitative experiences of young bariatric patients and, if so, to what extent? Do depictions of the qualitative experiences of young bariatric patients include both positive and negative experiences and feelings? What topics do these forms of media tend to address? Do these topics center a patient’s health, their thinness, or both? Why do young patients choose to have bariatric procedures?
With these questions in mind, I find that bariatric medical research is often performed through a fatphobic lens that focuses on body size rather than health. This dichotomy of health and thinness is the result of intense social stigma that is present in all discussions of bariatrics. However, alternative forms of information acquisition, such as popular media and young adult literature, are more nuanced and youth-oriented explanations of bariatric acquisition and its consequences in young people. These alternative forms of information acquisition provide a guideline for future changes in medical institutions. | en_US |
