Sociological Approaches to Understanding Public Health Issues: Obesity

This essay delves into the application of sociological approaches to understand the public health issue of obesity. It begins by outlining the nature of obesity, highlighting factors like overeating, lack of physical activity, and genetics as contributing causes. The essay then explores the functionalist approach, one of the three sociological perspectives, emphasizing its role in maintaining societal stability and advocating for effective medical care to address health issues like obesity. It examines how the functionalist perspective views the patient-physician relationship, the impact of lifestyle choices, including diet and activity levels, and the influence of genetics and socioeconomic factors on obesity. The essay also touches upon governmental initiatives aimed at reducing obesity rates and the challenges posed by the food industry. By analyzing these elements, the essay provides a comprehensive sociological understanding of obesity and its implications for public health.

How can sociological
approaches help us to
understand public health issues

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Essay Question.................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Outlining of public health issue, Obesity...............................................................................1
Outlining the use of Functionalist approach...........................................................................4
Influence of functionalist approach in understanding the topic.............................................5
Answering the Questions........................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

Essay Question
How can sociological approaches help in understanding the public health issues?
INTRODUCTION
Sociology is considered as a study of understanding the human behaviour which along
with this, also involves various patterns and techniques of social interactions and relationships
(Shilling, 2012). Sociological theories are the theories that can help in understanding the aspects
of the social world in a much better way and then enabling future predictions as well for the
future events. The Essay is about the use of sociological approaches in understanding the public
health issues. Although there are various public health issues which are bothering the way people
used to live a happier and healthier lifestyle but in this essay, obesity is the public health topic
chosen for continuation.
Outlining of public health issue, Obesity
A very common and a well known issue, obesity is considered to be a cause of various
deaths as well. Obesity is considered as a situation in which all the extra fat that has been stored
in the body start influencing the body negatively. Although there are various reasons that can be
classified as the reasons for one to become obese but some very common and popular reasons
involves overeating, lesser physical movements and activities, genetics etc. Although there are
various ways that can be implemented by the person in order to stay prevented from it and its
symptoms and these includes more physical activities, eating a balanced and healthy diet and that
too in an effective manner etc. These factors can actually help one in staying healthy and
preventive from obesity as well (Monaghan, Hollands and Prtichard, 2010). Being healthy is
different from being obese. In obesity, the person develops much amount of extra fat which can
harm the body in various ways. There can be various reasons for obesity as excess intake of
food, lack of doing physical activity and somewhere it also depends on the genes of the person. It
has been observed that the number of people who are obese is increasing day by day. It is a
public health problem because it has been spread worldwide. Even in case of youngsters, it has
been observed more. Various reasons can be behind it as the teens nowadays think eating fast
food on a regular basis is cool, but it is not (Haidar and Cosman, 2011). They do not understand
the fact that it is unhealthy and a main cause of obesity as well. Because it is unhealthy, it causes
extra fat in the body of an individual which keeps on increasing from the regular intake of these
food items. Along with unhealthy eating, another important factor of this is considered as the
1

lack of activities. As in case where people go to the offices daily, in that cases, people have their
lunch etc. and sit on work after that. This makes the person doing lesser activities which also
causes extra fat.
Nowadays, obesity has been considered as one of the leading cause for death and the
more is being observed in children and adults. It is a condition when the body mass index, that is
the BMI level of a person goes above 30. For the person with a normal weight, the BMI of a
person is analysed between 18.5 to 25 and the person who is termed under the category of
underweight has a body mass index below 18.5. A person with a BMI of 15 to 30 is considered
as overweight and after 30 body mass index, the person is called as obese. It is not just about the
visibility of excess fat but it also invites a lot of diseases with it and can be very much harmful
for the person. Very common and well known examples of various issues caused by it involves
various cardio vascular diseases, diabetes mellitus type 2, some sort of cancer etc. If all these
factors will be analysed, the issue of obesity can be referred as a cause for reducing the life
expectancy of a person. Eating fast food on an occasional basis is OK but on a regular basis can
harm the body of an individual. After getting used to it, the person starts disliking the home
made food which is even more healthy and enriched in nutritions.
Also, teens nowadays prefer to eat more fast food than that of home. The people or
vendors who sell a huge variety of fast food items in restaurants or on road sides usually tries to
make the food very tasty that people have more and more, because it is however increasing their
business only (Withrow and Alter, 2011). Usually these vendors has been observed to mix some
specific ingredients while preparing food such as a very common and basic ingredient is mono
sodium glutamate (MSG). It is a type of sodium salt containing glutamic acid and is known to
add a flavour to the food that people prefer taking it more. But consumption of MSG on a regular
basis is very harmful for health (Ahima and Lazar, 2013). If taken on a regular basis, it can very
badly affect the heart and can cause headaches, numbness etc. For a woman in pregnancy, it is to
be ensured not to take an intake of MSG because it can largely affect the health of the women as
well as the child. The statistics on the basis of surveys as a result of research studies has been
represented as below :
2

According to the statistics of the NHS, it has been observed that more than 33 % of the
children and 64 % of adults on an over in UK are obese. The study says that even the two three
year old children also recognises the famous brands of food because from starting only, the
parents take them to have such stuff without considering the fact that it can affect their health.
Because of such acts as well, the children depends on such things. When it is being done in a
routine, then children start disliking the home made food. The food they have there in restaurants
and in road side stalls includes various items including the soft drinks which are very rich in
sugar. So, it also becomes a very common cause of making the people obese.
The sociological theory can be classified in three basic types which involves the
functionalist perspective, symbolic interactionist and the conflict perspective (Cockerham and
Scambler, 2010). In the functionalist perspective, it focuses on different parts of the society are
working together whereas in the conflict approach, it refers to the various groups and teams of
the society fighting for resources and various powers. In the symbolic interactionist perspective,
it helps in reflecting the micro sociological perspective because it considers the fact that the
behaviour of humans can be influenced by the facts that have been developed and maintained by
means of symbolic interaction with the others. The best suitable approach for understanding the
role of this theory in case of obesity is described as under :
3
Illustration 1: Rate of obese people in UK
(Source : Obesity in UK, 2016)

Outlining the use of Functionalist approach
The functionalist approach is considered as one of the three perspectives of sociological
approach. It actually helps in understanding the fact that how it can contribute to maintain the
stability of the society. According to this theory, a proper and efficient medical care should be
provided to the people suffering from obesity so that the whole population can enjoy a smooth
life without any health related issues. Obesity cannot be considered as a disease but is a medical
health issue that can cause various further complications for the health of an individual. The
relationship between a patient and a sufferer is hierarchical (Golden and Earp, 2012). As the
physician provides specific instructions to the person and the person has to follow it in order to
make sure that it will affect them and also, help in recovering soon. It involves the fact of
understanding that eating fast food sometimes is a good way to spend time with the friends and
have fun but eating this on a regular basis can affect the health of a human being to a much
extent. It is because they prepare the food in a way that more and more people want to take it and
thus, avoids the home made food which is healthy. The soft drinks that are being served at these
stalls also has a high content of sugar in it which is also considered as one of the important cause
of being obese. It can be termed as very harmful because in the later stages, it causes various
troubles such as the feeling of nausea, continuous headaches etc.
Along with all these factors as well, functionalist approach says that usually it has been
observed that the condition of health also depends on the way people lives (Patterson and
Johnston, 2012). It is because it consists of various factors such as the way a person lives their
life which involves the activities of their daily life. It means if the person smokes and drinks on a
regular basis, it can also be termed a very natural cause of obesity. The way a person lives has a
very huge impact on their further health conditions (Lindsey, 2015). Along with this, genetics
also play a major role. The accuracy of any disease or illness also depends on genes of the
parents. Whether it could be the mother or the father as well, genes affect the child very much
(ROLLAND‐CACHERA, 2011). If any one of the parents or both of them has obesity, there are
more than half of the chances that the child will also get obese at some period of time in his life.
Poverty can also be considered as a very basic factor when the family does not afford to eat
healthy food and may have to consume the food that has been excluded out by someone or that
has been rotten in some dustbin, in that case, it is obvious that the food has been stolen and is not
healthy at all. So, in that case as well, there are chances of either getting very weak or obese as
4

well. As per Functionalist approach, factors like alcohol can also prove harmful because it
increases the calories to the diet and maximizes the appetite of a person, so after drinking too
much, usually people prefer eating a lot which in turns makes them obese after a few intervals of
time only (Walle and Campos, 2012). Too little sleep can also be considered as a factor as
because of it, the functioning of the fat cells starts affecting which often results in the body
getting extra and excessive fat.
There are various initiatives as well that have been taken by the government in order to
ensure that the number of obese people can decrease to a huge extent. A fat tax procedure was
developed so that the rate of obesity can decrease to a huge extent. After that, the news of
alterations in the food industry has been observed many times in which the manufacturers often
copy the name of a famous brand and starts making similar to them. But they just try to make
similar and for that, they add various alterations in it because they just want it to look similar,
they actually did not mean it, so it further causes various issues which involves obesity as well.
Therefore, after the act was observed by the government, various procedures were meant to
happen and strict obligations were developed for the one involved in alterations. There is a small
difference between the healthy fat and the unhealthy one. A healthy fat after entering the human
body is being transferred to every part of the body so that there can be an equal distribution of
energy and nutrients but in case of an unhealthy fat, the fat after entering the human body sticks
to one part and there only, expands itself which becomes visible after a few times. This was a
measure taken by the government of UK in order to protect the health of the people and thus
protecting them from various issues including obesity as well.
Influence of functionalist approach in understanding the topic
Functionalist approach is considered as one of the basic theories in sociology. As it helps
in maintaining the stability, this can help in reducing the issue of obesity because it has become a
very major issue and also a reason for causing further problems to people (Shilling, 2012). Yes,
the functionalist approach is helpful enough in analysing the negative effects of obesity as it
causes very changes in the blood sugar, also has an influence on the heart of the person.
Moreover, along with these factors, it has been observed that it is also counted as a very basic
result of death in UK. So, the functionalist theory helps in evaluating all such effects of obesity.
Functionalist approach involves some methods such as involving more physical activities, eating
a proper and balanced diet so that obesity can be reduced and people can be able to live a
5

healthier and happier life. Yes, functionalist approach also considers the need of involving help
and support from the government as they can make a sort of ban on the fast food so that people
cannot be able to eat it more, thus it will help in preventing them from issues and diseases such
as obesity.
Answering the Questions
 Yes, functionalist approach proved relevant enough for explaining the main causes why
obesity happens in people. Also, it covers all the factors that leads to obesity and
processes and ways that can be implemented to resolve the issue, thus decreasing the
overall rate of obesity in people.
 Yes, functionalist approach helped well in analysing the effects that obesity can have on
people, social groups etc.
 Yes, functionalist approach helped in providing various recommendations in order to
reduce its occurrence and effects.
 Yes, functionalist approach also includes various ways and policies that the government
and national authorities can include in order to respond to this issue of obesity.
CONCLUSION
It has been concluded from the essay that obesity cannot be considered as a disease but as
a public health topic, because of which it can affect the health of an individual in various ways.
There are various factors of the daily life which acts as the cause for getting obese but various
methods can be adopted for controlling it. There are various sociological approaches, out of
which the functionalist approach seems relevant enough in providing an understanding of the use
of sociological approaches for analysing obesity and various factors as well.
6

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Ahima, R. S. and Lazar, M. A., 2013. The health risk of obesity—better metrics
imperative. Science. 341(6148). pp.856-858.
Cockerham, W. C. and Scambler, G., 2010. Medical sociology and sociological theory. The new
Blackwell companion to medical sociology. pp.3-26.
Golden, S. D. and Earp, J. A. L., 2012. Social ecological approaches to individuals and their
contexts: twenty years of health education & behavior health promotion
interventions. Health Education & Behavior. 39(3). pp.364-372.
Haidar, Y. M. and Cosman, B. C., 2011. Obesity epidemiology. Clinics in colon and rectal
surgery. 24(04). pp.205-210.
Kendall, D., 2012. Sociology in our times. Cengage Learning.
Lindsey, L. L., 2015. Gender roles: A sociological perspective. Routledge.
Monaghan, L.F., Hollands, R. and Prtichard, G., 2010. Obesity epidemic entrepreneurs: Types,
practices and interests. Body & Society. 16(2). pp.37-71.
Patterson, M. and Johnston, J., 2012. Theorizing the obesity epidemic: Health crisis, moral panic
and emerging hybrids. Social Theory & Health. 10(3). pp.265-291.
ROLLAND‐CACHERA, M. F., 2011. Childhood obesity: current definitions and
recommendations for their use. Pediatric Obesity. 6(5‐6). pp.325-331.
Shilling, C., 2012. The body and social theory. Sage.
Walle, E.A. and Campos, J.J., 2012. Interpersonal responding to discrete emotions: A
functionalist approach to the development of affect specificity. Emotion Review. 4(4).
pp.413-422.
Withrow, D. and Alter, D. A., 2011. The economic burden of obesity worldwide: a systematic
review of the direct costs of obesity. Obesity reviews. 12(2). pp.131-141.
World Health Organization (WHO, 2017. Obesity and Overweight factsheet from the
WHO. Health.
Online
Obesity in UK. 2016. [Online]. Available through: <http://teamboom.net/obesity-uk/ >.
7