Factores sociales en la vivencia del cuerpo de mujeres con peso normal y con obesidad: Rol de la madre, el padre y la pareja

The objective of this study was to describe the influence of social factors, specifically close affective bonds (mother, father and cou-ple), on body experience in young women with obesity and normal weight. A qualitative exploratory research was carried out and data were analyzed with Grounded Theory. A sample of eight women between 20 and 25 years old participated, four of them with morbid obesity and four with normal weight. The results confirm that body dissatisfaction is present in all the participants, which is associated with the pressure to be thin exerted by the people close to them. Mothers are more centered on the aesthetic, while fathers seem to have more concern about health. Participants are vulnerable to the couple’s conflicting messages, generating insecurity. However, the pressure of the environment does not seem to be enough to change the habits. Ambivalence is observed between the appreciation of a thin body and a curvilinear one at the same time, ideals that overlap and generate discomfort.