Exploration of Fatness in the Meaning System of Women in Shiraz City

Over two past decades, the prevalence of overweight and fatness in most developing and developed countries has increased, significantly. The current study aimed to investigate overweight and fatness in the system of meanings of women in the bodybuilding clubs of Shiraz. And for this purpose. The grounded theory has been used as one of the qualitative research methods. The participants were women who attended bodybuilding clubs in Shiraz for Wight loss. Overall, in the current study 12 participants have been selected and interviewed. Data analysis was performed using open, axial and selective coding. The result of analyzing was access to seven axial categories and one core category. Axial categories are fluid reading of overweight and fatness, the plurality of beliefs and opinions about body size and attractiveness, having dreamy images about the ideal body, social and cultural conceptuality of the body, and social perception of the otherness, body fitness medicalization. In addition, the core category is a pluralistic narrative of the ideal body. The emergence of this phenomenon has brought some consequences such as duality, ambiguity and plurality.
 
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 Fatness, ‌Ideal Body, Meaning System, Shiraz Women Bodybuilder.
 
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‌Introduction
Social pressures about weight loss and widespread views on body structure have made dissatisfaction with the body and negative body image very common among people in society, especially women. Body image is a person's perception of the size and fitness of the body, which is accompanied by other people's thoughts and views about it. On the other hand, sections of Shiraz women's society are still influenced by beliefs, values and attitudes in the cultural context of Shiraz society and are dependent on traditional roles of women in society such as housekeeping, marriage, and childcare. They do not actively participate in social and cultural activities. However, as a result of the cultural changes that have taken place in recent years, many families have found different attitudes towards women's participation in social and cultural activities. Changes due to the following: increase of higher education centres in the province, access to television programs, increase in communication networks and widespread use of the Internet. Due to these changes, attitudes and beliefs about the body or fatness and overweight have changed a lot. This study will try to address the participants' views and interpretations about fatness and overweight. In this study, the main question is what is fatness and overweight in the meaning system of women in Shiraz and what kind of interpretation of causal, interventional and contextual conditions do these women have?
 
Purpose
In this study, the views and commentary contributors to overweight and fatness be addressed and the issue is that fatness and overweight in the system meaning women Shiraz how the women's interpretation of the terms of Ali, they have interventions and contexts. The secondary objectives of this study include the following:

What has fatness and overweight been like in the meaning system of women in Shiraz and what is their perception of this fatness and overweight?
Provide a paradigm model of fatness and overweight
Provide an underlying theory of the pathways leading to fatness and overweight
Understanding the bed and matrix of causal conditions - an intervention leading to fatness and overweight
Development of theoretical concepts to explain the problem of fatness and overweight in Shiraz

Research Methods
The present study was conducted using the grounded theory method. In the present study, the research field was the city of Shiraz and the women were the bodybuilding clubs of Shiraz; After the presence of the researcher in the research field, based on the data obtained from the field, in-depth interviews were conducted with the interested people and the interviews continued until the theoretical saturation regarding the different categories of the interviewees was reached. Due to the strong gender segregation in the study area and the fact that the researcher was female, all participants were female. Due to the theoretical saturation of the categories, 12 interviews were conducted and these interviews have entered the analysis cycle.
Data collected during the research and with the help of various forms of interviews were analyzed using a coding process at different stages. Overall, the data should be coded in three stages, namely open coding, axial and selective to eventually pass the information you have provided are making theory. In the present study, three techniques have been used to validate the data: the use of audit, control or validation techniques by members and analytical comparisons.
 
Results
Data analysis was performed using open, axial and selective coding, the result of which is the achievement of seven axial categories and one core category. Key categories include the fluid reading of fatness and overweight, flexibility in believing in body size and attractiveness, dream image of the ideal body, other social endorsements, social and family expectations and contexts, and inclusion of medical guidelines. The core category is also: the utility of the fluid from the ideal body. The emergence of this phenomenon has consequences such as duality and ambiguity and multiplicity, personal responsibility and stigma, attributing some problems to weight, food insecurity and emotional eating, ambiguity and scepticism about medical instructions, the paradox of style and fatness accepting some stereotypes related to Fatness and ignorance and ambiguity about risky behaviours Fatness and ambiguity in the main consequences of fatness and overweight.
 
Discussion and Conclusion
Women's narratives have shown that body image is not a fixed structure but is dynamic and fluctuating when women are confronted with new experiences and reinterpretation of old experiences. The powerful and subconscious influence of the media on body image came from women's internal contexts (self-confidence and self-criticism) and their relationships with others, such as their cohabiting partners and other women. Participants' narratives showed that there are several identities to influence the perception of body image and that they are obese and overweight. According to other body image studies, despite concerns about their weight control, participants felt that, given the weight control they were involved in, they were equally receptive to the wide range of body size and overall appearance (from Sentence hair and clothes) emphasize. Analysis of the data showed that the methods of interpretation, integration and resistance to social culture in the formation of body image of women, clarify the attitude toward fatness. From the point of view of these women, the body image is not a static structure but has several elements, it is dynamic and variable. This "fluid" display of body image seems to lie in women's experiences and perceptions of these experiences. Women's narratives show several common themes that illustrate the reciprocal cultural and social context of body image.