The experiences of children and adolescents living with obesity : A descriptive literature review

Sammanfattning: Background: Obesity is a common metabolic disorder, which occurs in children andadolescents, and has attracted more and more attention. Obese children and adolescentsare experiencing multiple impacts from physical, psychological, and social aspects, andneed to improve their self-care ability and quality of life. So, it is meaningful to explorethe experiences of obese children and adolescents.Aim: To describe the experience of children and adolescents living with obesity.Method: The study used Pubmed and Cilnal database, searched and selected the articlespublished the last ten years, limited to the English language, and selected articlesaccording to PRISMA requirements, and summarized the content of the articles throughcomparison and classification.Results: When children and adolescents discovered that they were obese, they fell intoa trap that included a variety of physical, psychological and social manifestations. Somewould choose to change the situation, while others were afraid to ask for help. Theexperiences of children and adolescents living with obesity can be grouped into 3categories: (1) Discover the fact of obesity, (2) Be caught up in a dilemma. (3) Breakthe shackles of obesity.Discussion: When children and adolescents suffered from obesity, different peoplemight have different experiences and feelings. Obese children and adolescents requiredprofessional guidance, social support, and mastery of self-care skills. Nurses shouldactively provide personalized nursing guidance, supervision, and follow-up to helpobese children and adolescents improve their living standards.Keywords: Obesity, Children, Adolescents, Experience, Living