Obesity

Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems. Body mass index (BMI) is a measurement used to compare weight and height, defines people as obese (pre-obese) when their BMI is between 25 kg/m2 and 30 kg/m2, and obese when it is greater than 30 kg/m2.

An estimated 5.5 million adults in Canada had a BMI of 30 or more indicated obese, according to the CCHS 2004. Men, women, and children are affected by obesity, but in Canada the Aboriginal Origin (off-reserve) had a higher significant obesity rare.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4053591-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4144184-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/t/adults-adultes/4053592-eng.htm

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-620-m/2005001/article/adults-adultes/8060-eng.htm#1

Emotional Factor

People overeat for many reasons. Some simply love food. Many people subconsciously equate food with emotional comfort, and eat to cope with feelings of depression, failure, or low self-esteem. Some use food to reward themselves for minor accomplishments. Many people overeat simply out of habit. A particular problem these days is a dependence on convenience and junk foods, which supply lots of calories but very little nutrition.

Genetic Factor

Genes can directly cause obesity in disorders such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome and Prader-Willi syndrome. However genes do not always predict future health. Genes and behaviour may both be needed for a person to be overweight. In some cases multiple genes may increase one’s susceptibility for obesity and require outside factors; such as abundant food supply or little physical activity.

Social Factor

Food is often used as a centerpiece of social affairs in the west. We have business breakfast, luncheon, dinner, etc. We are obligated to attend social functions such as dinner parties, featuring sumptuous meals. Eating can often carry a sense of social obligation. Television watching and obesity are highly associated; the more of one, the more of the other.





Physical Factor

In spite of a decrease in average caloric intake of 40 percent in the last 130 years, the decrease in physical exertion has been even greater. In the majority of obese people, caloric intake habitually exceeds caloric loss from physical activity, movement, and exertion. Less/no exercising , eating and watching television is a major influence for obesity.

In my point of view, yes obese can be a mental and physical challenge, but I would say obese is a profit base strategy - an easy pray for all those manufacturers and promoting industries. For example ice cream or junk food industries, who do you think is their main buyer? I would say most of it is from the obese families. We would think that they would take in effect this disease and try to help society by promoting healthier food and services. When we go into a grocery store we buy chips, chocolate, pop, etc, when we go to cash out, we see magazines-weight loss this, loose 40lbs in 2 weeks, eat healthy etc. this is all promotion strategies one is making a profit of the other. Why isn’t our society helping this situation, again it’s another selfish way in which society thinks about money. They are not doing anything to help the situation ex Mcdonalds, Burger King, KFC, there only focus is profit, and not all about the health of economy.

Couvade

Couvade is a condition when the husband or significant other of an expectant mother experiences the same symptoms and behaviour as the mother-morning sickness, weight gain, hormone changes(I dont this because men and women have different hormones), also labor pain aka sympathy pain, postpartum depression and nosebleed.

Couvade to some is believe as psychosomatic basically mind over matter or what I would say is a method of somatization. I've heard of sympathy pain in i believe we can feel the pain that is inflicted by a loved one, but to physically feel the pain-has another different meaning i guess. No medical certainty has been determained but theoris has arrived-

Etic- In some societies believed that this was attributed by demons, spirits, inflicting this symptom to cause problems for the family.

Etic- Anxiety, identification with the fetus, ambivalence about fatherhood, partuition envy or statement of paternity.

Couvade is more common where male sex is flexible and female is dominant.

Female Genital Mutilation

I thought circumcision only happened to boys. FGM is usually involves the removal of the clitoris, or other female genitalia. There are four type of circumcision:
Clitoridectomy-partial or total removal of the clitoris
Excision- partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora
Infibulation-the narrowing of the vaginal opening
Other- includes harmful procedures to the femail genitalia for non-medical purposes.

FGM tames a girl sexual desire and tames her honor for marriage and adulthood. In a FGM society it is believe that a girl is not considered an adult until she has undergone this procedure. FGM is mostly said to be practised by Muslims and Christians alike, and is deeply rooted from the Nile Valley region and parts of the Sub-Saharan Africa, Yemen and Oman which started 2000 yrs ago.

FGM to me, is a inhumane practice. I think it's a custom that decieves a woman's right and desire in this society. Even though is a social cultural behaviour, this shows that they dont care about the harm and suffering it does to these women/children such as hemmorrhages, shock, benigh tumors, depression. Some long term effects are Urinary Tracts Infections, Kidney stones, and sexual Dysfunction.

In Canada, FGM was considered child assault and criminal offence. In 1994, the Federal Interdepartmental Working Group for FGM was establised. It mandates is to identify and promote methods to prevent FGM living in Canada. Inspite of laws against FGM, this ill-treatment is still being practiced or criminalized in many parts of Africa. The above map outlines where FGM practiced.

Child Mortality

Child mortality can be linked with poverty. Every year approximately 10 million children die, very often from preventable causes. The countries that are most affected by child mortality are Middle East, Latin American, Caribbean but half these deaths occur in Africa. According to UNICEF, most of these child deaths and (70% in developing countries) one of the following if not a combination of malnutrition, measles, malaria, diarrhea and respiratory infections. Lack of malnutrition and safe water are the main causes for half of these deaths. Most countries of the world are reducing child mortatlity rates too slowly to meet the Millenium Development Goal of a 2/3 reduction by 2015. Yet, some countries have recieved impressive reductions.

Personally, I if man is capable of reaching the moon, invent extraordinary, beyound our minds developments, then why is it they cannot solve poverty or even child mortality. I think that its because the goverment is scared that it over ran by the people and its the way they - the government controls the society. If the world was well fed, healthy easy flowing society then we wouldnt need a government to control us. So when we hear about poverty, violence etc. to me i think its all being controlled.

United Nations World Food Programme-Hunger

1 in 6 people do not get enough food everyday.

Greater than AIDS, Malaria and TB hunger and malnutrion are the number 1 factors affecting the world. In Asian, African and Latin American well over 500 million people are living in what the world bank called "absolute poverty."

Besides and empty stomach, death, infections and the sufferings, poverty , natural disaster, agriculture infrastucture, conflict are just some of the major factors caused and affected by starvation.

World hunger, particularly chronic persistant hunger, can be solved even within our lifetime. From distribution techniques, education, cancellation of world debt, peace negotiations, governements involvement are some ways we can contribute to solving this issue.

For the prce of one missle, a shool full of hungry children can eat lunch everyday for 5 yrs.

The link below shows the statistical report of hunger in the most affected areas

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45111000/gif/_45111978_wo_hunger_226.gif

The Amish of Pennsylvania Old Dutch Country

The Amish have their roots of the Mennonite Community and the population as a whole stresses humility, family and community from the seperation of the modern world. They take seriously the biblical commands to seperate themselves from the things in the world. Their lifestyle involves using air or hydraulic motors as the source of their power energy, they use horses and buggies for transportation, although, even though owning a car is not permitted in the Amish community, being a passenger or hiring is another way of transportation. They are also called the "Plain People" due to their simple and plain clothing, they work together as a unit to form a strong bond in the Amish community. They use horse drawn carriages for field work, basically they live simple-technologically impaired I would say. Although they resist cultural influences, they are they are willing to compromise with the modern world tapping in its benefits, at the same time preserving the Amish identity.

Peace Corps

In 1961 John F. Kennedy developed the Peace Corp. to promote world piece and friendship. Their mission was to help people of interested countries on thier understanding of the Americans and to train men and women.

Peace Corp. have helped people build better lives for themselves around the world. For the volunteers it was a challenge adapting to the daily lives in these countries-food, clothing, weather, environment, society etc.

The volunteers would interact while observing the locals in their community to determine how they can educate, train, encourage positive reinforcements to the people and at the same grow the knowlege for the Americans.

Almost all of these countries that the Peace Corp. visited are fighting for survival so when these volunteers involve themselves in those envinroment they too are fighting for survival, so the outcome of this experience is that they've gained a sense of independence, reliabilty and a high level of confidence. This is to show that culture is derived from one's being and that times are changing and people can change when it comes to survival and life.