OBESITY AS A SOCIAL PROBLEM

Obesity as a Global Problem

Seeing obesity as a systems problem.

Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in many countries and persists despite continuing efforts to find solutions. Such 'stubborn problems' often signal the influence of 'feedback systems'. In the case of the obesity epidemic, this possibility can be investigated using available system analysis tools. The investigation must begin with a study of the interplay between the full range of human ...

Obesity as a Perceived Social Signal

Fat accumulation has been classically considered as a means of energy storage. Obese people are theorized as metabolically 'thrifty', saving energy during times of food abundance. However, recent research has highlighted many neuro-behavioral and social aspects of obesity, with a suggestion that obesity, abdominal obesity in particular, may have evolved as a social signal. We tested here whethe...

[Alcoholism as a psychiatric and social problem].

Mental Health as a Public Social Problem

We define the concept of mental health on the basis of the realization that mental health is not just a health phenomenon anymore, but also a social and psychological one. By defining mental health separately from mental illnesses, it is placed into the concept of public health, which exceeds the medical definition of the determination of a “mental illness”. The anthropology of health defines t...