Understanding Obesity

through Sociology

Dr Abir Youssef
Understanding Obesity
through Sociology
 Introduction
 World Health Organization (WHO)
definitions for obesity
 Causes of obesity
 Socio-economic Environmental
Explanation
 Cultural – behavioral Explanation
 Ethnicity and Obesity
 Tackling Obesity
 Conclusions
Introduction

 Obesity is a major public health

problem across the world.

 Obesity results from excessive

caloric intake, decreased
energy expenditure and/or from
a combination of the two.
World Health Organization
(WHO) definitions for obesity

BMI = Weight kg/Height m²

 Underweight: <18.5 BMI

 Healthy weight: 18.5-24.9 BMI

 Overweight (Grade I obesity): 25.0-

29.9 BMI
 Obese (Grade II obesity): 30.0-39.9
BMI
 Morbidly obese (Grade III obesity):
40 or above BMI
Causes of obesity

The etiology of obesity

includes both genetic and
environmental factors
 The followings are the
main factors:

 Environmental factors related

to lifestyle and cultural or
socio-economic conditions
 Psychological factors
 Metabolic factors
 May also be induced by drugs
(high dose glucocorticoid)
 Secondary to a variety of
neuroendocrine disorders
Socio-economic
Environmental Explanation

Obesity is strongly influenced

by environmental factors,
such as , poverty, housing
condition, and work situation.
Housing conditions

There is clear recognition of

the association between poor
housing and poor physical
and mental health
 Income

 Obesity is strongly linked to

poverty.
 Poorer diets among poorer
groups can be explained by
the lack of opportunities,
stress, and level of
knowledge.
 Income

 Poverty and overcrowding

can inhibit parental
supervision of children and
negatively affect their health
in general and increase
obesity.
 Unhealthy fast food is both
available and affordable.
Work situation
 Work allows for the financing of
household necessities and leisure
pursuits and provides status and
self-esteem for the individual.

 There is a decrease in energy

consumption at work, as most of
our jobs now require much less
physical effort, compared with
1970.
Work situation

 Travel to work by cars and/or

other modern public transport

 Calorie intake and the

ambient temperature at home
and at the workplace have
increased.
Cultural – behavioral
Explanation

The Cultural – behavioral

explanation of health
inequalities point out class
difference in
 beliefs about health

 health behaviour

 life-style
Lack of public information

 Some people can not judge

which products are high in fat
and by how much.

 Food manufacturers display

macronutrients in grams, when
the correct way would be to
express their contribution in
energy.
Lack of public information
 Advertising gives children
confused messages about nutrition,
and can change their food
preferences and buying behaviour.

 Subsidies of agricultural products

play an important part, as children
as well as adults, are influenced by
cheap prices.
 Ethnicity and Obesity
Psychosocial factors associated with
the incidence of obesity in ethnic
minorities include
 inadequate social support

 cultural barriers to communication

 racism and discrimination

 stress and lack of knowledge

 language difficulties to understand

the health promotion message.
Tackling Obesity on
different levels

 individuals
 community
 local government
 national levels
Tackling Obesity
Society-wide Approach
The WHO’s 1997 interim report argues that it is
not enough to tackle obesity at individual
level and that a society-wide public health
approach needs to be employed.
 Medical profession
 Government should work with the food
industry to promote a healthier diet for
everyone from childhood to adult life.
 Management of obesity in Primary Care by a
motivated well-informed multi-disciplinary
team could achieve and maintain weight loss
by promoting sustainable changes in
lifestyle.
 Tackling Obesity
 The government should work to reduce
health inequality and improve the
environment factor.

 Controlling safety and making the streets

safe for walking or cycling.

 Promoting and improving access to sport

and leisure facilities.

 Education programmes for all, advertising to

promote healthy lifestyles and highlight the
risks associated with obesity.
Tackling Obesity

 Individual parents of
overweight children should be
helped to take responsibility
and encourage healthy eating
and physical activity.
Conclusions

 Obesity is not a disease, it is

a public health problem and it
is a risk factor for several
chronic diseases.
 Understanding environmental
factors can contribute to a
better understanding of the
nature of obesity as well as
contribute to tackling it.