title: It's not just about the french fry: avoidance as an idiom of distress among overweight and obese adolescent boys.
abstract: The purpose of this article is to explore idiom of distress and its application to overweight and obese adolescent boys. This case study suggests that avoidance, as an idiom of distress, offers self-protection from suffering among this population. Fieldwork included 55 face-to-face contact hours, 25 virtual contact hours (i.e., text messaging, e-mails, phone calls), and 16 person-centered interviews. The daily suffering experienced by this group of boys, and their collective enactment of avoidance as a self-protective strategy, offer an understanding of their lives beyond their obese bodies. Avoidance behaviors, however, can result in negative social consequences such as isolation. Recognizing avoidance as an idiom of distress permits parents, teachers, health professionals, and researchers to interact with overweight and obese adolescent boys in a profoundly different way. Attending to the personhood of these vulnerable boys was an important finding of this qualitative study.
authors.affiliation: Medicine Hat College, Alberta, Canada. zmorrison@mhc.ab.ca
authors.forename: Zachary J
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Gregory
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thibodeau
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D054526:Men's Health; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult