Cultural Anthropology

Cultural Anthropology

Obesity is a body condition, which is associated with one’s body having excess fat. When dieting, it is defined by environmental and genetic factors that are difficult to control. It results from energy expenditure and food intake imbalance leading to the accumulation of excess fats in the liver, adipose tissue, pancreatic islets, muscles, and metabolism organs.  It is classified as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than thirty (Appel, 2014). It is among the most chronic and pervasive diseases that need new medical strategies for treatment and prevention in the United States. It is also the leading cause of disability, morbidity, mortality, health care costs, and health care utilization in the country. All these ripple effects have a great influence on the country’s health care system and the development of health care policies. In 2010, about 210 billion dollars were estimated to be the costs of health care that were used towards obesity (Stokes et al., 2018).

More than one-third of the adult population of the United States is affected by obesity (Appel, 2014). The number has steadily been increasing since the year 1960. However, this trend has slowed down in the recent years, but with no signs of reversing back. At the moment, sixty nine percent of the adults in the United States is said to be overweight or obese. Middle-aged adults of between forty and fifty years are the most prevalent to obesity. Obesity has also become prevalent in adolescents and children in the United States. About 13.7 million adolescents and children between 2 and 19 years of age are affected with obesity (Appel, 2014). This has become an issue of major concern as the health of the young people is put at risk by the epidemic of obesity in the country.

An individual suffering from obesity is at a high risk of developing more than thirty chronic disease conditions. These conditions include diabetes type 2, hypertension, high cholesterol, gallstones, heart failure, asthma, birth defects, respiratory problems, some cancers, stroke, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure, and stress incontinence (Stokes et al., 2018). As it is, obesity can lead to the development of other illness that can be detrimental to the life of those affected. Many deaths have been attributed to obesity and with the alarming cases obesity in the United State, this has raised a lot of concern on the necessary measures to be used in reducing these numbers.

There are many factors that directly and indirectly contribute to obesity. Among the main causes is genetics, environment, and behavior (Stokes et al., 2018). These have been identified as the three main causes to the obesity epidemic complexity by Disease Control Centers. Genetics: Scientific knowledge shows that genetics play a major role in the development of obesity. Certain disorders that can eventually result to obesity can be caused by genes. Research is being done to find out the genes that highly contribute to obesity since some individuals who are predisposed to obesity do not become obese.

Environment: Environment is a key player in shaping one’s lifestyle and habits. Influences of the environment can impact on an individual’s health decisions. Many people in the society today have developed sedentary lifestyles. People prefer to drive to work and market places than walk; technology has replaced physical activities and many people no longer go for nutritious foods; they go for junk food for convenience.

Behavior: As a result of the current fast-paced environment, many people find themselves easily adopting unhealthy behaviors. In this case, behavior relates to our choice of food, physical activities, and the effort to maintain our health. More calories are being highly consumed by the Americans as compared to the past. This has decreased the consumption of nutrients required for healthy diets. People prefer to buy fast cooked foods than prepare their own meals at home; most of these foods contain a lot of calories which contribute to obesity. On the other side, people to do carry out physical activities such as body exercises to help them cut on the excess calories; physical activity is so important in shaping and modifying one’s behavior. Computers and televisions have caused many people not to engage in physical activities.

In the developed countries, America has the highest number of obesity cases; this is majorly linked to the lifestyle and culture of the American people. High intake of calories with reduced physical activities are core factors attributed to the development of obesity. As much as the issue of obesity requires personal decisions such as being cautious of what one eats and engaging in physical activities, for instance, exercising, the government needs to come up with policies that can help control the intake of foods that contain a lot of calories. Also, there needs to be policies regulating the advertisement of foods that have high calorie levels since marketing and advertising influence many people’s food choices and preferences. Taxing food products that have the potential of causing obesity has proved to help reduce obesity cases. Calif, Berkeley, Colo, Boulder, and Philadelphia implemented a policy to tax beverages that are sugar-sweetened and results have shown that the consumption of these drinks dropped by 21% (Stokes et al., 2018). With less of the population consuming sugary products, obesity cases are also bound to decline.

An applied anthropologist can respond to the obesity issue by use of primary interventions that emphasize on strategies that might increase the possibility of shifting weight management, eating, and physical activities towards energy balance by the whole population especially those that are at a higher risk of getting obesity (DEBAENE, 2013). Energy balance is a crucial aspect when it comes to obesity. Also, the prevention of obesity at early years especially during childhood really helps in curbing this epidemic. From childhood onwards, excess weight sustained in one’s body increase the chances of long-term obesity in one’s subsequent years of life.

Over the years, people have seemed t change their cultures and ways of life, and these factors have greatly led to the increased number of obesity cases. For instance, due technological developments, people no longer walk for long distances to work, or even children no loner walk to school. After work most parents and children watch television of use their electronic devices to play games. Nowadays people also prefer o consume fast foods, which have high calorie levels; most of the parents no longer prepare nutritious meals at home since most of the children prefer the junk foods. The sedentary way of life and the consumption of foods that are not nutritious have led to the increased obese population. As such, it is important that culture and lifestyle are taken into consideration in tackling the issues of obesity.

Anthropologists are an important resource because they provide tools that help in navigating complex issues that affect the society and ways in which such issues can be solved for the benefit of the and the society at large. Anthropologists help in coming up with practical ways of solving issues. The research methods of anthropologists are unique because their approach to issues is holistic; in solving any problem, they try to understand simultaneously all the aspects surrounding the issue from economic, cultural, and political aspects (DEBAENE, 2013). This helps them to explore the issue of obesity fully and with a deeper understanding of how it originated and its effects to the society. With these issues in mind, it becomes easier to come up with the right strategies to curb the epidemic and benefit the society at large. Also, in their research, anthropologists value participant observation in getting first-hand information from the society; they do one on one interviews, use surveys, and questionnaires in exploring cultural domains and knowledge.

Cultural relativism is important when solving social concerns. The world is changing rapidly and people of different cultures are brought together through education, business, wars, migration, and many other ways. The different cultures can positively or negatively affect a community. In resolving social concerns, the effects brought by people of different cultures can be used in coming up with strategies that can be used to solve various social issues. For instance, the issue of obesity is somehow attributed to cultural issues, hence, it is important to study the various cultures and how they are related to each and how the impact on the issue. As such it becomes easier to solve the issue with respect to the various cultures of the people.

References

Appel, L. (2014). Prevalence of Obesity in the United States. JAMA, 312(2), 188. doi: 10.1001/jama.2014.6225

DEBAENE, V. (2013). A CASE OF CULTURAL MISUNDERSTANDING: French Anthropology in a Comparative Perspective. Cultural Anthropology, 28(4), 647-669. doi: 10.1111/cuan.12031

Stokes, A., Collins, J., Grant, B., Hsiao, C., Johnston, S., & Ammann, E. et al. (2018). Prevalence and Determinants of Engagement with Obesity Care in the United States. Obesity, 26(5), 814-818. doi: 10.1002/oby.22173