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Brooke Crase Kyle Lubsen, TA Anthro 202-7 11/29/2005 Health Care Methodology The purpose of
this survey was to observe the body size of two groups of people in Table 1:
Date and Time of Data Collection for Groups A and B
As can be seen from the above table, the dates varied slightly with respect to the data being collected. However, the times varied significantly. This allows for a reasonable determination of the cross-section of both populations with which to draw conclusions. Longer durations of data collection would give more accurate results. Fifty people were observed at each site leading to a total of 400 people observed. Findings When all data was collected and analyzed, some surprising trends were discovered. It was predicted that the majority of the on-campus group would fall into the Heavy category while those in the off-campus group would fall into the thin and medium categories. However this was not the case. All survey data is presented below in Table 2. Table 2: Survey Data Collected for Groups A and B
Among the children observed, there was little difference between Group A and Group B, although the numbers observed for these two fields were relatively low.
Figure 1: Child Male Site A Figure 2: Child Male Site B As can be seen in Figures 1 and
2, some male children from Site A were categorized as heavy or obese while no
male children in Site B were labeled as such.
However, a small number of male children were observed for Site B so
the graphical data is not very reliable.
This reason for a low number observed in Group B is that the number of
children present on campus is typically lower than those present in Group
A. Therefore, Group A is probably a
more accurate representation of children in the
Figure 3: Child Female Site A Figure 4: Child Female Site B Interestingly, there were a larger number of heavy and obese female children observed on campus than off campus as can be seen in Figures 3 and 4. This is opposite of that observed for male children. The numbers observed for each group are similar; therefore the graphical data is somewhat representative of the population. A possible cause for this trend is that on-campus female children are likely present because one or both parents are attending college as well as working. This lifestyle is rather strenuous and is not conducive to maintaining healthy eating habits either due to time constraints or a lack of sustainable income.
Figure 5: Adult Males Site A Figure 6: Adult Males Site B There is little difference among adult males at either on-campus or off-campus sites. This indicates that adult males have the ability to maintain their body size whether or not they are attending college.
Figure 7: Adult Female Site A Figure 8: Adult Female Site B The data collected on Adult Females size also varies only slightly between off and on campus locations as can be seen in Figures 7 and 8. There is a slight increase in the number of heavy and obese women observed off campus compared to those observed on campus. This would indicate that college-going females are slightly more contentious of their appearance and body size as compared to women who are not currently attending college. Also, when comparing Figures 5-8 there appears to be little statistical difference between male and female as far as body size is concerned. Overall, there appears to be no difference between Groups A and B as far as body size is concerned. The only discrepancy being the large differences in the body sizes of male and female children at sites A and B. However, the low numbers observed when compared to the adults of both sexes does account for some of this discrepancy. The “Thrifty Gene Theory” states that individuals predisposed to diabetes were efficient at storing excess energy as fat during periods of plenty, thus increasing their chances of survival when food was scarce. The “thrifty gene” is the term used to describe this predisposition. This theory is often used to explain why certain groups of people appear to be predisposed to be heavy (Schluz 1999:155). In this survey there is a slight tendency for the adult males to be heavier than the females. This would indicate that adult males are more likely to have the “thrifty gene” and therefore develop health problems related to being overweight such as heart disease and diabetes. Indeed the American Diabetes Association reports that 10.8% of all men and 8.8% of all women have diabetes (American Diabetes Association 2005). There is also
evidence that the environment plays a role in whether or not a specific group
of people become overweight. This is
especially true when the Pima Indians in The effect of diet is not well observed in this study. However, some assumptions can be made which would allow conclusions to be drawn. The primary assumption being that children observed on campus are associated with at least one parent who is in college. The second assumption is that these parents also work as well as attend school. Given the student body of this university, these assumptions can be assumed to be reasonable. Since school and a job are consuming as far as time and money are concerned, it is very hard for students to maintain a proper diet and get enough exercise. Likewise, the children of these students probably do not receive a healthy diet. The effects of diet and diet change over time can clearly be seen again in the Pima. High calorie intake and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of developing health problems including hypertension and heart disease (Berg 1994:161). However, with proper diet and exercise the likelihood of these issues is reduced, as can be seen in those children who are associated with the off-campus group. The lack of a large number heavy or obese men and women in this study indicates that there is a concern about body image in both groups. This can be seen with the Adult females of Group A and B are compared. There is a reduced percentage of adult females on-campus who would be classified at heavy or obese compared to adult females off-campus. This is likely due to the fact that they are more consciousness of their bodies as compared to men. Indeed, the likelihood of women to be concerned with their body image is greater than for men. This is because women are constantly assaulted with images of the “perfect” figure. However, this figure is only attainable by 1% of the female population. Similarly, the wide range of body sizes among male and female children indicates that they have not yet become fully aware of body image and societies views on it. However, the age of these children is unknown, making conclusions difficult to draw. This is because as children grow up they become more aware of body image and it affects girls and boys differently. Boys tend to go through some periods of bodily dissatisfaction. Girls, however, begin to think about it at a very early age (~5 years old) and continue to worry about it (Social Issues Research Centre 2005). Recommendations There
are several public policies that could be implemented in order to decrease
the likelihood of children and adults in the Works Cited Jane Adams 2005. Project:
Health Care. Leslie O Schluz 1999. Traditional Environment Protects Against Diabetes in Pima Indians. Health Weight Journal, pp. 155. American Diabetes Association 2005. Total Prevalence of Diabetes and
Pre-Diabetes. Diabetes Statistics. http://www.diabetes.org/home.jsp
( Frances M. Berg 1994. Pima Diet Changes: 1958 to 1993. Healthy Weight Journal, pp 161. Social Issues Research Centre Mirror,
Mirror: A Summary of Research Findings
on Body Image. Social Issues Research Centre.
www.sirc.org/publik/morror.html
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