Case 6 Body weight regulation beyond biology
Learning goals
How is body weight affected by the following social characteristics: gender, age, ethnicity,
employment, education, household size, marital status, parenthood, residential density (farm
vs the city), income.
Culture and history are two major social contexts for framing obesity.
The culture within which a person lives is likely to be the most powerful influence on their
eating pattern, activity levels and body weight.
Historical period determines the levels of fatness and thinness of individuals and populations.
Culture
Culture also influences how people think about fatness and thinness, eating
behaviours, activity patterns etc.
People who live in economically developed societies are more likely to be obese than
their counterparts in developing societies.
Modernization involves shifts in modes of economic production for whole societies,
which has influence on EE of populations. If whole societies shift from primary to
tertiary, the EE decreases drastically.
People who migrate from a less developed to developed country tend to gain weight
after migration.
Culture shapes values, attitudes and beliefs about fatness and thinness, providing a
basis for how people interpret their own body weights and that of others
History
Obesity started increasing during the second half of the 20 th century.
The major transition point from valuing fatness to desiring thinness started around
the beginning of the 20th century
Social ideas emphasized the value of slimness for women, increasing thinner body
shapes
Since 1950s there has been a medicalization of obesity.
Social characteristics
Sex/gender: Females have more stored body fat than males and are more likely to be
obese. Fat is also deposited in the lower body for females and upper body for males.
Women are more judged by fatness and thinness and their physical appearance,
which is a criterion for attractiveness. Distribution of fat is also linked to reproductive
functioning.
Age/life stage: Body weight and obesity tend to increase as a person ages and
declines again in the last years/decades. Activity levels of younger people are often
higher and decline when they age. Metabolic changes due to age. Older people care
less about physical appearance
Ethnicity: Minority groups are more likely to be obese. The beliefs, perception and
attitudes also differ between ethnic groups, many minority groups are more
accepting of higher bodyweights.
Employment: Employment provides income, structure and access to health care.
Many jobs include health benefits and risks. Unemployed women are often more
overweight than employed women, while for men it’s the other way around.
Occupation: Energy intake is not necessarily determined by occupation, although
food preparing jobs may provide eating opportunities that facilitate overeating. Also
expected/obligated actions like taking clients out to meals can cause this. Levels of
Learning goals
How is body weight affected by the following social characteristics: gender, age, ethnicity,
employment, education, household size, marital status, parenthood, residential density (farm
vs the city), income.
Culture and history are two major social contexts for framing obesity.
The culture within which a person lives is likely to be the most powerful influence on their
eating pattern, activity levels and body weight.
Historical period determines the levels of fatness and thinness of individuals and populations.
Culture
Culture also influences how people think about fatness and thinness, eating
behaviours, activity patterns etc.
People who live in economically developed societies are more likely to be obese than
their counterparts in developing societies.
Modernization involves shifts in modes of economic production for whole societies,
which has influence on EE of populations. If whole societies shift from primary to
tertiary, the EE decreases drastically.
People who migrate from a less developed to developed country tend to gain weight
after migration.
Culture shapes values, attitudes and beliefs about fatness and thinness, providing a
basis for how people interpret their own body weights and that of others
History
Obesity started increasing during the second half of the 20 th century.
The major transition point from valuing fatness to desiring thinness started around
the beginning of the 20th century
Social ideas emphasized the value of slimness for women, increasing thinner body
shapes
Since 1950s there has been a medicalization of obesity.
Social characteristics
Sex/gender: Females have more stored body fat than males and are more likely to be
obese. Fat is also deposited in the lower body for females and upper body for males.
Women are more judged by fatness and thinness and their physical appearance,
which is a criterion for attractiveness. Distribution of fat is also linked to reproductive
functioning.
Age/life stage: Body weight and obesity tend to increase as a person ages and
declines again in the last years/decades. Activity levels of younger people are often
higher and decline when they age. Metabolic changes due to age. Older people care
less about physical appearance
Ethnicity: Minority groups are more likely to be obese. The beliefs, perception and
attitudes also differ between ethnic groups, many minority groups are more
accepting of higher bodyweights.
Employment: Employment provides income, structure and access to health care.
Many jobs include health benefits and risks. Unemployed women are often more
overweight than employed women, while for men it’s the other way around.
Occupation: Energy intake is not necessarily determined by occupation, although
food preparing jobs may provide eating opportunities that facilitate overeating. Also
expected/obligated actions like taking clients out to meals can cause this. Levels of
