To be or not to be active – a matter of attitudes and social support? Women’s perceptions of physical activity five years after Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass surgery

• Main Authors: Sofie Possmark, Daniel Berglind, Fanny Sellberg, Ata Ghaderi, Margareta Persson
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2019-01-01
• Series: International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health & Well-Being
• Subjects: roux-en-y gastric bypass; bariatric surgery; physical activity; attitudes; social support; interviews; qualitative; grounded theory
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482631.2019.1612704
• ISSN: 1748-2623; 1748-2631

Purpose: Despite positive health advantages of post-surgery physical activity (PA) for bariatric surgery patients, the majority is not sufficiently physically active. The aim was to explore women’s perceptions and experiences concerning PA five years after Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB) surgery. Methods: Eleven women were interviewed five years post-surgery. Grounded Theory approach was applied. Results: The core-category “Attitudes and surrounding environment influence activity levels” includes three attitudes towards PA: “Positive attitudes”, “Shifting attitudes” and “Negative attitudes”. Participants with a positive attitude were regularly physically active, felt supported and proud of their achievements. Contrary, participants with a negative attitude didn’t prioritize PA, didn’t feel supported and saw no need or benefit of PA. Some participants revealed an on-off behaviour, hovering between the attitudes of vigorous PA and sedentary lifestyle, without sustainable balance. The majority mostly viewed PA as a mean to lose weight. Conclusion: The level of perceived post-surgery PA was related to the participants’ attitudes towards PA and whether or not they had a supportive environment. These findings might explain why bariatric surgery patients often fail to be sufficiently active post-surgery, and highlight the need for prolonged support and motivational interventions to promote sustainable PA post-bariatric surgery.