- Series Information
- [UNTITLED]
- Preface
- Contributors
- Introduction
- The Epidemiology of Obesity
- The Demography of Obesity
- The Cliometrics of BMI and Obesity
- The Anthropology of Obesity
- The Psychology of Obesity
- The Sociology of Obesity
- The Economics of Obesity
- Behavioral Economics and Obesity
- Obesity Politics and Policy
- Fat Studies
- Publicly Available Data Useful for Social Science Research on Obesity
- The Complex Systems Science of Obesity
- Challenges for Causal Inference in Obesity Research
- Race, Ethnicity, and Obesity
- Socioeconomic Status and Obesity
- The Nutrition Transition and Obesity
- Peer Effects and Obesity
- Maternal Employment
- Depression and Obesity
- Food Marketing, Television, and Video Games
- Portion Size and the Obesity Epidemic
- Mindless Eating: Environmental Contributors to Obesity
- Food Assistance and Obesity
- Physical Activity and the Built Environment
- Food Deserts
- Food Prices, Income, and Body Weight
- Agricultural Policy and Childhood Obesity
- Obesity and Medical Costs
- Obesity and Mortality
- Schooling and Human Capital
- Labor Market Consequences: Employment, Wages, Disability, and Absenteeism
- Bias, Stigma, and Discrimination
- Medical and Social Scientific Debates over Body Weight
- The Imperative of Changing Public Policy to Address Obesity
- Economic Perspectives on Obesity Policy
- Lessons for Obesity Policy from the Tobacco Wars
- Food Taxes and Subsidies: Evidence and Policies for Obesity Prevention
- School-Based Interventions
- Workplace Obesity Prevention Programs
- Community Interventions
- Regulation of Food Advertising
- Unintended Consequences of Obesity Prevention Messages
- Behavioral Treatment of Obesity
- Anti-Obesity Drugs and Bariatric Surgery
- Correlates of Successful Maintenance of Weight Loss
- Cost- Effectiveness of Anti-Obesity Interventions
- Cited Authors Index
- Subject Index
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter first offers a description of anthropological approaches to the study of obesity, and then provides several theoretical models used to study obesity, with key examples of each type of model. Some of the essential methodologies used to model obesity, and a few examples of topical areas and current trends in the anthropology of obesity, are discussed. Changes in energy balance, both improvements in energy availability and reductions in energy expenditure over the course of human history, are central to the development of obesity. The link between formula feeding and early excess weight gain has been observed in several settings and ethnic groups, including African Americans, and may contribute behaviorally to the intergenerational transmission of obesity. With modernization, relatively recent changes in diet and physical activity behaviors (and thus energy balance) have shaped current trends in body size, resulting in obesity as a critical, global issue.
Keywords: obesity, anthropology, theoretical models, energy balance, formula feeding, diet, physical activity, body size
Amanda L. Thompson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and a Fellow of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Penny Gordon-Larsen is an Associate Professor of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health and the School of Medicine, and a Fellow of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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- Series Information
- [UNTITLED]
- Preface
- Contributors
- Introduction
- The Epidemiology of Obesity
- The Demography of Obesity
- The Cliometrics of BMI and Obesity
- The Anthropology of Obesity
- The Psychology of Obesity
- The Sociology of Obesity
- The Economics of Obesity
- Behavioral Economics and Obesity
- Obesity Politics and Policy
- Fat Studies
- Publicly Available Data Useful for Social Science Research on Obesity
- The Complex Systems Science of Obesity
- Challenges for Causal Inference in Obesity Research
- Race, Ethnicity, and Obesity
- Socioeconomic Status and Obesity
- The Nutrition Transition and Obesity
- Peer Effects and Obesity
- Maternal Employment
- Depression and Obesity
- Food Marketing, Television, and Video Games
- Portion Size and the Obesity Epidemic
- Mindless Eating: Environmental Contributors to Obesity
- Food Assistance and Obesity
- Physical Activity and the Built Environment
- Food Deserts
- Food Prices, Income, and Body Weight
- Agricultural Policy and Childhood Obesity
- Obesity and Medical Costs
- Obesity and Mortality
- Schooling and Human Capital
- Labor Market Consequences: Employment, Wages, Disability, and Absenteeism
- Bias, Stigma, and Discrimination
- Medical and Social Scientific Debates over Body Weight
- The Imperative of Changing Public Policy to Address Obesity
- Economic Perspectives on Obesity Policy
- Lessons for Obesity Policy from the Tobacco Wars
- Food Taxes and Subsidies: Evidence and Policies for Obesity Prevention
- School-Based Interventions
- Workplace Obesity Prevention Programs
- Community Interventions
- Regulation of Food Advertising
- Unintended Consequences of Obesity Prevention Messages
- Behavioral Treatment of Obesity
- Anti-Obesity Drugs and Bariatric Surgery
- Correlates of Successful Maintenance of Weight Loss
- Cost- Effectiveness of Anti-Obesity Interventions
- Cited Authors Index
- Subject Index
