The weight body issue

The weight body issue

The weight issue is dependent on food consumed, exercise, but, more importantly, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. I feel that it is correct to say that various individuals feel differently concerning their weight about the cultural or ethnic group from which they come from. As asserted by Brewis, “a range of societies still fundamentally views big, fat bodies as morally good, as well as healthy and attractive” (2011). People from such communities will automatically not feel the urge to shed any extra weight as it is a good thing to have some excess weight in their culture. The same people will feel more or less proud of their body weight when they interact with other people from different ethnic backgrounds. It, therefore, calls for cultural humility when dealing with individuals from such cultures as health concepts will not apply directly to what such people believe in.

Additionally, some cultures and ethnic groups consume foods that are richer in fats as well as starch. Hence, it becomes difficult to have a medically fit body when consuming such every day. Cultural humility is, therefore, compulsory when dealing with people who have ethnically different perceptions of healthcare, including medication, body weight as well as types of food consumed. I think that understanding the culture variance in a given group is essential before treating, advising or talking with them matters health..

Besides culture, gender also plays a critical role when it comes to weight. Some women from different ethnical groups will prefer to be slim compared to women from other groups who feel better when they are a few extra pounds. As an example, women in African countries are expected to be voluptuous, and they even desire to gain an extra few pounds or even overall, become obese. As noted by Ozodiegwu et al., “Culturally, the supposedly ideal African woman was expected to be overweight or obese, and voluptuous, and this was associated with their identity” (2019). The implicit social cognition in such a situation will cause most African women to appreciate the fact that they are fat and obese. They will take no step to loose extra weight since the gratification they receive from the excess weight is more rewarding regardless of health considerations. The same situation applies to women from the east who feel that being thin feels good. Witcomb explains that “East Asian cultures had a clear preference for small body features in women. In ancient China, smaller body shapes in women were prized for being associated with femininity and beauty” (2013). Understanding such concepts is vital before giving any health advice to people from such a culture because one will understand the reason behind the added weight in those people. I feel that Cultural humility is essential before introducing any health tips since one might find themselves offending a more significant population.

Cultural humility is, therefore, an essential element that should be put in place by any health worker before administering any health advice to persons of a different culture. There is a deep connection between the implicit bias that individuals show to their body weight and the cultural humility that is required before guiding persons on the required weight they should have. Such may pose some severe consequences for their esteem and their social lives, depending on their ethnic and cultural root. Cultural humility is key to understanding why people do certain things and additionally why they even feel good about it despite such being against accepted health concepts