The Applied Anthropology of Obesity

Prevention, Intervention, and Identity

Chad T. Morris, Alexandra G. Lancey

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2015
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781498512640
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Nutrition, Dietics & Bariatrics

The increasing global prevalence of obesity and nutrition-based non-communicable disease has many causes, including food availability; social norms as evidenced in local foodways; genetic predisposition; economic circumstance; cultural variation in norms surrounding body composition; and policies affecting production, distribution, and consumption of food locally and globally. The Applied Anthropology of Obesity:Prevention, Intervention, and Identity advances understanding of the many cultural factors underlying increased global obesity prevalence. This collection of chapters showcase the value of anthropology's holistic approach to human interaction by exploring how human identity associated with obesity/overweight is affected by cultural norms, policy decisions, and perceptions of cultural change. They also demonstrate best practices for the application of anthropological skillsets to develop culturally-appropriate nutritional behavior change across multiple levels of analysis, from local programming to policy decisions at local and national levels.

In addition to soliciting explanatory models used by respondents in different cultures and situations, anthropologists find themselves on the front lines of public health and policy attempts at affecting behavioral change. As such, this applied-focused volume will be of utility to scholars and practitioners in applied and medical anthropology, as well as to scholars and professionals in public health and other disciplines. The volume's authors are professional and student anthropologists from both public health practice and academia. Chapters are geographically diverse, containing lessons learned from attempts to combat obesity by anthropologically focusing on culture, history, economy, and power relative to obesity causation, prevention, and intervention. The Applied Anthropology of Obesity: Prevention, Intervention, and Identity candidly provides rich information about social identity, obesity, and treatment.

Table of contents

• Cover-Page
• Halftitle
• 1 “Modernization,” Global Influence and Obesity Prevention in the Republic of Palau
• 2 Applying a Socio-Ecological Model to Obesity in the Caribbean: A Community-Based Approach at the Tapion Hospital in Castries, Saint Lucia
• 3 Anthropology Field School Insights into Community-Based Participatory Research to Address Food Insecurity: The Case of Demonstration Keyhole Gardens in the Monteverde Zone, Costa Rica
• 4 Community Approaches to Obesity Prevention in Brazil: The Food and Nutritional Security Paradigm
• 5 Metabolic Syndrome Screening and Health Education: Are There Lessons We Can Learn from Japan?
• 5 Who, What, and How?: Insights Gained From a Comparative Approach to School-Based Obesity Prevention Efforts
• 7 Addressing Obesity and Associated Medical Conditions in Latino Immigrant Communities in Southeast Georgia
• 8 Working with Low-Income and Latino Farmers to Increase Access to Oregon’s Local Food Markets using Community Based Participatory Research and Public Participation GIS
• 9 Religious Gardens, Pilgrimages, and Dancing: A Critique of Translated Interventions in a Tribal Community
• 10 Considering Surgical Weight Loss: Applied Anthropology and the Invisible Obese Body
• 11 Fat by Any Other Name: Perceptions of “Obesity” in Clinical Settings
• 12 Obesity as Public Policy: Creating and Changing the Obesogenic Environment
• References
• Index
• About the Contributors