Food Systems
What is "sensuous scholarship"?
The concept of anthropologists engaging with not just their minds but with their bodies and senses (when doing participant-observation)
How do Wutich and Brewis define stigma?
The process by which people become classified within society as less valuable, undesirable, or unwanted
Explain geographic clines
Though there is no biological basis of race (no scientific consensus on a definition of race), there are clines - Gradation in the frequency of an allele/trait between populations living in different geographic regions (like having more melanin closer to the equator)
What are some of the symptoms of Type 2 Diabetes?
What were some of the dangers of border crossing described by Holmes (2013)?
Risky interactions with coyotes, natural threats such as snakes and heat, kidnappings and other violence
What is heatstroke?
A condition caused by the body overheating - usually from exposure to high temperatures/physical activity in high temperatures for too long - can happen if body temperature rises to 104 or above - when heat gain exceeds heat loss
What is an example of a public health campaign that has utilized stigma?
Public health messaging against smoking
What is hypertension?
Blood pressure (the force of the blood against the walls of the vessels, driven by the pumping action of the heart) above 140/90, considered severe if above 180/20
First number - systolic (heart beating)
Second number - diastolic (heart at rest)
What is insulin?
The hormone that helps glucose to be absorbed by cells to be used as energy - more simply, it helps store energy (pulling sugar out of the bloodstream)
What is the "Thrifty Genotype Hypothesis"?
The theory that some human populations evolved to be efficient at storing energy because of the ancestors' frequent experience of feast-famine cycles
Explain the "violence continuum"
Understanding violence as a spectrum, encompassing not only physical or political violence, but also structural and symbolic, and everyday violence
What is the problem with CLTS (community-led total sanitation)?
The intervention is designed to trigger disgust toward those who defecate outdoors or don't wash their hands (to nudge social norms). The problem is that shame is being used in impoverished communities that lack adequate sanitation infrastructure
What is structural racism?
Racial bias among institutions and across society - involves the cumulative and compounding effects of an array of societal factors - history, ideology, etc.
Explain Type 2 Diabetes
Develops when the body becomes resistant to insulin (the cells in the body aren't responding to insulin) or when the pancreas stops producing enough insulin - In a diabetic state, there is a problem with the regulation of insulin, so blood glucose levels remain high
What was the "cumulative stress" that Mendenhall described in her work on diabetes and syndemic suffering?
Women spoke of distress related to domestic abuse, sexual violence during childhood, emotional neglect and social isolation - Difficult experiences rarely occur in isolation, and cumulative effects of multiple stressors can significantly increase psychiatric distress
Explain positionality and habitus
Positionality: Recognition/reflection of the researcher's social, cultural, and personal identity in relation to the people and communities they study
Habitus: An individual's set of skills, habits, and dispositions acquired through social upbringing and surroundings (Bourdieu)
What are the manifestations of physicians' bias against patients with obesity/viewing patients as "non-compliant failures?"
Physicians spend less time consulting, less time establishing emotional rapport, and exercise less patience and trust with these patients
What was Ogunwole and Starks' concept of "critical love"?
A profound ethical commitment to caring for the communities we work in - recognizing people's humanity and their intrinsic value
What is the DOHaD framework?
Developmental Origins of Health and Disease - proposes that conditions during early life (especially in utero and infancy) shape long-term health and disease risk
Who is J. Marions Sims, and what did he do?
The "Father of Modern Gynecology" - Revolutionized approaches to female medical procedures - Carried out brutal experimentation on Black women's bodies - Modern medical distrust and disparities can be traced to early practitioners such as Sims
How are cytokines involved in chronic pain?
Inflammation triggers the release of cytokines (inflammatory messengers), which directly stimulate pain receptors, sensitize nerves in the affected area, and lead to tissue damage - this can cause persistent pain signals to be sent to the brain even after the initial injury has healed
What was controversial about the AMA (American Medical Association)'s vote to recognize obesity as a disease?
The decision went against the AMA's own council, who in 2012 said that there was not sufficient data to support calling obesity a disease
Explain "African gene theory" and its problems
The theory that high rates of hypertension among Black Americans traces back to the horrors of slavery - that Black Americans developed a genetic predisposition to retain more sodium in their blood to survive
There is very limited data to support this theory, and it may deflect responsibility in addressing health disparities
Explain the relationship between chronic stress and diabetes
Cortisol (stress hormone) provides the body with glucose - Chronic stress leads to consistently elevated blood sugar levels and also thwarts the effect of insulin (because stress favors the use of energy over the storage of energy) - Over time, high levels of glucose in the blood, combined with cells' inability to get the sugar they need (cortisol makes them insulin-resistant), wears out the pancreas - Type 2 Diabetes
How do GLP-1s work?
GLP-1s (glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists) - mimic a natural gut hormone to regulate blood sugar, appetite, and low stomach emptying (feeling of fullness) - they affect the brain and gastrointestinal system (obesity is a neurometabolic condition)