Hello!
I hope in class we are able to discuss not only the physiological aspect of obesity, but also the sociological and psychological aspects. I read this article in The Atlantic (at the Dr.'s office). And it had a great commentary about a research article in Obesity. The commentary stated in large print: “it will take less than 30 years for all black women to become overweight or obese.”AHHH! So that means that If I have a baby today, in 30 years it will be overweight or obese! (That won't happen to MY kid, but this is the overall trend in America).
I know that we talked about how bogus articles scare people into becoming borderline hypochondriacs, but some people need to be tricked into getting healthy. Is this statement too bold? This information was developed from data that just so happened to be tested scientifically...but if it wasn't, it would have still empowered me! What do yall think?
Another point I wanted to make was that disease prevention (vs treatment) strategies have become vital to clinicians and medical researchers. It is far too easy to simply call for implementation of a more nutritious diet and exercise in a person’s life; therefore, looking deeply into the reasons people eat the way they do could provide better ways to intervene and combat epidemic obesity. I am sure there are immuno-neuro-endocrine linkages that many researchers have not even thought about. Or have they...? That is what I meant by social and psychological aspects of obesity.
See ya!
Jennifer
I agree Jennifer,
ReplyDeleteI think there are "good scares" and "bad scares" and it sound like what you're talking about is a "good" one. If it mobilizes people to make positive changes, then I'm all for it (as long as the change is a good one)...
Obesity is bad...so making good choices to combat it (exercise and eating well) is a positive step, but maybe certain supplements and diets are dangerous and need to be examined.
I do agree that there can be "good scares" that prompt people to take action to positively affect their health. On the flipside, we have all discussed in class how articles posing as scientific fact can cause people to engage in unproven techniques that may or may not be beneficial to their health, but there is yet another side to the equation that we cannot afford to ignore. What about those who read and article like the one you mention about black women becoming overweight and respond with believing that their fate is inevitable? Not everyone who reads that article has the willpower to believe they can break that doomsday prediction, and the article may actually help some people feel more comfortable about becoming obese because it has been displayed as a "well-researched" scientific theory.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well, I think some "good" scare tactics are necessary if we really want to do something about the obesity problem in our country. I found an npr article about Michelle Obama's "Let's Move!" initiative (link posted below). I wish the article talked more about what exactly the first lady plans to do. How is she going to help solve childhood obesity? I think we do need to make changes when it comes to school lunches and how much time children are exercising. The government may be overreaching, but something big needs to be done if we want to decrease obesity rates in this country.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2011/02/09/133597487/checking-up-on-michelle-obamas-anti-obesity-effort
--Jessica