School of Medicine, National University of Ireland Galway, Galway, Ireland.
School of Medicine, International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
J Travel Med. 2019 May 10;26(3). doi: 10.1093/jtm/taz018.
It is unknown whether obesity is a barrier to international travel. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the travel experiences of a cohort of severely obese individuals attending a hospital-based bariatric service, to identify their perceived barriers to travel and to generate recommendations that address the needs of severely obese individuals.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with severely obese patients attending a regional, structured, multidisciplinary lifestyle modification programme. Coding and thematic analysis of the transcripts were completed by three independent researchers. A thematic analysis was performed based on examination of the transcribed interviews. Demographic and clinical data such as gender, age and body mass index were also recorded.
Twelve patients (six males), with a mean age of 54 ± 5.98 years and a mean body mass index of 46.2 ± 8.2 kg/m2, agreed to semi-structured interviews (14-52-minute duration). The principal themes emerging from the interviews included obese air traveller embarrassment, physical discomfort on commercial flights, perceived weight bias, challenges in accessing hotel rooms, heat intolerance in warm climates, restricted leisure travel activities and medical co-morbidities. Most of the interviewees perceived a health benefit to travel but regarded obesity as a significant barrier to international travel.
These findings highlight the limitations experienced by obese travellers when engaging in international travel. Our results may inform the pre-travel health advice given to obese travellers. They might also serve to raise awareness among operators within the travel industry of the difficulties travellers with severe obesity face.
肥胖是否会成为国际旅行的障碍尚不清楚。本项定性研究的目的在于描述一组严重肥胖个体的旅行经历，以确定他们认为的旅行障碍，并提出满足严重肥胖个体需求的建议。
对参加基于医院的减重服务的严重肥胖患者进行半结构式访谈。三名独立研究人员对转录本进行编码和主题分析。根据转录访谈进行主题分析。还记录了人口统计学和临床数据，如性别、年龄和体重指数。
12 名患者（6 名男性），平均年龄 54 ± 5.98 岁，平均体重指数为 46.2 ± 8.2 kg/m2，同意进行半结构式访谈（访谈时间 14-52 分钟）。访谈中出现的主要主题包括肥胖的航空旅客尴尬、商业航班上的身体不适、感知到的体重偏见、入住酒店房间的挑战、在温暖气候下不耐热、休闲旅行活动受限和合并症。大多数受访者认为旅行对健康有益，但认为肥胖是国际旅行的一个重大障碍。
这些发现强调了肥胖旅行者在进行国际旅行时所面临的限制。我们的研究结果可能为肥胖旅行者提供旅行前健康咨询。它们还有可能提高旅行行业从业者对严重肥胖旅行者所面临困难的认识。
