The Issue of Obesity - Research Paper Example

Name Course Professor Date HOW TO EXPLORE AND UNDERSTAND OBESITY THROUGH THEATRE Introduction There are numerous questions as to what has resulted to obesity in the current times. There are arguments as to whether obesity is caused by feeding on excessive calories; whether food in surplus in the current society; whether it is a psychological problem; Does it come due to lack of exercise; or it is as a result of genetic problems. The above arguments have been placed by health specialists, nutritionists and reporters. Still, despite all the information regarding on the dangers of obesity, the number of obese people is significantly rising across the globe instead of reducing (Puhl, Luedicke, and Peterson 40). Having dealt with people who struggled with excessive weight gain, the issue of obesity is of great concern. According to research, obesity is not associated to just a single reason. Nevertheless, the solution offered to most of the obese individuals is to take in fewer calories and do more exercise. It fails to consider the part of emotional feeding and wrong choice of diet. Feeing dos not just involve the body but it includes ones emotions. Taking in fewer calories is linked to stress and anxiety. Therefore individuals who are just advised to reduced their calorie intake and undertake additional exercises may not have the skills on how to handle emotional effects that are linked to change in feeding habit. Hence, they do not achieve their desired goal of losing weight. Adopting new eating routines in a society majority of the people overfeed and with a wide range of fast foods can be challenging. The major question here is why theatre is brought into matters of obesity and what is it that theatre has to offer that health professionals cannot provide. Theatre refers to an interactive media and it connects different kinds of people (Sloman 45). It puts thoughts into action and delves into people’s emotions. People who take part in theatre work connect their emotions, perceptions, and physical being. Obesity leads to disconnection between emotions, thoughts and the physical being; hence, it is significant to carry conduct exploration of obesity through art. This study relies on theatre for social change which was developed by early researchers. It includes Theatre of the Oppressed and the Rainbow of Desire. The theatre for the Oppressed explores oppression in the exterior environment of people’s lives while the Rainbow of Desire deals with interior oppression. Obesity oppresses people both internally and externally; hence, the two will play a significant role in this study. Research Topic The research will be conduct a number of TO and ROD workshops within a span of four months. The participants will be adults ranging the ages of 19-26 years in the University. This study will involve persons who are young adults. Young adults are the best target for this study because they are in an intrigue point of their lives where they redefine themselves as adults. They may make significant decisions basing on the knowledge they gain on how they may live with obesity for their entire lives. In the study, the experiences of the participants will be used so as to understand and explore what they understand by the term obesity. The participants will address obesity from a wide range of perspective beginning with personal, community, and national perspectives so as to get a clear understanding on how they view obesity. Thereafter, a forum theatre work about obesity will be developed and presented to invited guests. Various articles on obesity will be provided to enable participants get a wide idea on the aspects of obesity. So as to acquire a complete image of obesity, it will be significant to expand the knowledge of the participants on the facets and actuality about obesity outside their personal experiences and knowledge. Topic Statement The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of young adult an institution environment as they assess obesity in their personal lives and the community as a whole. The study will make use of theatre for social change in creating and performing theatre work. Research Questions 1. Do the experience of addressing the issue of obesity in theatre work impact the how the young adults understand and react to the issue of obesity? 2. What is the understanding of the young adults on the issue of obesity? 3. What is the link amid repression and obesity? 4. What is the meaning of creating safe space in theatre setting? The Need for the Study Obesity is one of the most disturbing issues in the current society and obesity rates have increased significantly in the developed countries. Specifically in Australia, the obesity rates are increasing than anywhere else in the globe. The report of the global obesity rates indicated that nearly 63% of the young adults are obese. The levels of obesity in Australia are on par with the US. Obesity is associated to high rates of health problems such as heart attack, Type 11 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Previous studies have utilized theatre for social change in the exploration of body image but only a few have explored the issue of obesity. Hence, this is an excellent area of exploration of study. Literature Review Obese people are greatly stigmatized in the community. These people are susceptible to negative bias, discrimination, and inequality in all social settings. Weight bias has not been challenged in most of the societies (Lee et al., 5320). Due to this, majority of obese people are at great risk of facing discrimination. Theatre refers to a dramatic art of communication (Nicholson 2). Communication refers to the process of passing information through spoken, written, or by use of other medium (Novak 360; ‘Effective Communication’). Theatre is the natural instinct of human beings and it expresses a wide range of issue experienced in the real world. Theatre work aims at challenging people to perform spoken words as means of communicating in a clear and an artistic manner. It nurtures the sense of confidence and responsibility in the art of communication. The audience is able to recall their experiences through while watching theatre work (Tony 40). Theatre work is informative, educative, and reaches a wide range of the society. The actors and the audience are the major parties of the theatre performance and the two parties must come together for theatre work to be successful (Boal 16). Augusto Boal developed the theatre for social change which aimed at exploring, interrogating, and solving both interior and exterior oppressions people face. Augusto Boal was a Brazilian theatre practitioner who started his work in Brazil and later extended to Europe. Boal established his work and practices (TO) after realizing the need for helping oppressed persons explore methods which will take them out of their situation at hand. His techniques make use of theatre to promote social and political change. In the TO, the spec-actors get active and they explore, demonstrate, asses, and change the reality in which they live in. Spec-actors refer to those who get engaged in Forum theatre. As his theory moved to a number of developed countries where most of the oppressions are internal, he developed ways of exploring the interior oppressions of individuals. This section of his work is referred to as Rainbow of Desire (ROD). The ROD refers to group of theatrical approaches developed by Boal. The ROD includes replaying situations from a the daily routines and reveals invisible aspects of people‘s relations which include emotions, mental hindrances, and desires which may be obstacles or of assistance (Boal 22). Every session starts with theatrical work that establishes a theatrical vocabulary and establishes group dynamics. The next step involves exchanging information where people share experiences and opinions. Therefore, ROD assists in getting over of the past and awful experiences. Similar to all aspects of TO, the workshops attempt to conquer enduring oppressions, changing people, and transforming the community as a whole. In both types, Boal aimed at opening up dialogue concerning the oppressions faced by people so as to enhance understanding of the issue and foster change. So as to understand the poetics of the oppressed, it is significant to keep in mind that main goal is to transform the people, who are passive in the theatrical setting, into active participants, transformers of the theatrical work. Aristotle suggested that art work in which the audience delegates authority to the action character so that the actor may act and think on their behalf. Bretch suggested art whereby the audience delegates the authority to the character who acts on their behalf, but the audience holds the power to think for them, mostly in disagreement with the character. In Aristotle’s approach, a catharsis happens but in Bretch’s approach, critical consciousness is awakened. The art of the oppressed puts focus on the action and the audience delegates no power to the actors to think or act on their behalf. Instead, the audience takes the protagonist role, alters the character action, attempts a wide range of solutions, and debates on change. This means that the audience gets trained for real action. As a consequence, the theatre does not cause change by itself, but it is evidently a rehearsal for the change. The open-minded audience generally launches into action. In his work, Boal argued that the conventional approaches required reworking, and in particular, the relation between the audience and ought to be transformed. He argued that emotions and intellect would play a significant role in the development of people’s beliefs and understanding, therefore, he found in the theatre language the way to assist them think as part of the drama, and not passively (‘Augusto Boal & The Theater Of The Oppressed’). According to in, theatre means change and not just a mere presentation of people’s ideas. TO approach was developed in a society where people experienced oppression from the state administrators. As the same form of oppression is absent in Australia, it is debatable as to whether TO would be effective when applied here. This study will combine two approaches; the TI and the ROD which will explore both interior and exterior oppression for young adults in Australia. It has been found that forum theatre plays a significant role in education and personal discovery. It is not advisable to ask participants to retrieve agonizing memories for exploration without offering the necessary support after the study. As pointed out, there is need for emotional support when exploring matters that affect people feelings. This paper will assess the need for emotional support and will ensure the participants are provided with the necessary emotional support. Research Methodology This study will use of the feminist theory and arts based studies in the methodology. The study will involve both male and female participants. This study will use participative research to explore oppression. Obesity leads to both external and internal oppression. Feminist theory involves exploration of imbalances and oppression and will fit properly in this context. The study will use art art-based research for data collection. Data will be collected for a period of around 3 months and will involve 3 hour theatre sessions that will take place at the University, weekly. Records will be kept on the sessions and a logbook will be kept for the observation. Participants will be invited through a University educational program where the study will take place. Leaflets will be distributed concerning the study and participants who qualify and are willing to participate will be selected. The study will involve two focus groups. The first focus groups will include people who are not willing to take part in the workshop but will be there during forum presentation. These people will offer ideas on how they understand and perceive the issue of obesity. The second focus group will involve the participants. The second focus group will be conducted after forum presentation and thoughts about obesity would be explored. Interviews will be conducted with all participants before and after all sessions. The level of participation of the participants will be kept on record and the main aim is to identify the impact on the program on the people’s perception on the issue of obesity. The overall number of the participants is expected to be 320. The interviews will present a lot of data for analysis. Ethics The study will involve the use of human participants; approval from the University review board will be significant. All forms of personal data will be kept confidential and not released to any third parties. Sometimes confidentiality may be a problem when the team conducting the researchers is well known to the participants. Hence, the study will involve external researchers who will interview the students. Since the study involves dealing with emotions, the participants must be offered with emotional support and always present with an opportunity to express their feelings. If not utilized appropriately, the theatre work may turn into therapy work in the course of the study. Hence, the study will put clear guidelines on the type of support that will be offered to the participants. However, it is likely for the participants to get overwhelmed by the study in that they may require additional support. The participants will be directed to qualified mental health specialists. Conclusion This paper does not seek to solve the issue of obesity in Australia, but it opens great opportunity on how theatre can enhance people’s ability to understand and address it rightfully. Due to cases of rapidly increasing obesity in Australia and other developed countries, it is evident that the issue of obesity requires proper understanding before it can be successfully addressed. Provided that the issue of obesity affects both the emotions and the physical being, theatre work will play a significant role in addressing and exploring the issue. When sufficient knowledge is obtained on how obesity s perceived through this study, it is possible to establish more successful methods of dealing with the issue of obesity. Time plan Works Cited "Augusto Boal & The Theater Of The Oppressed." Augusto Boal & The Theater Of The Oppressed. Web. 10 June 2015. "Effective Communication.": Improving Communication Skills in Your Work and Personal Relationships. Web. 10 June 2015. Boal, Augusto. The rainbow of desire: The Boal method of theatre and therapy. London ; New York : Routledge, 1995. Boal, Augusto. Theatre of the Oppressed, New Edition (Get Political). London, UK : Pluto Press, 2000. Lee, Natalia M., et al. "Food addiction and its impact on weight-based stigma and the treatment of obese individuals in the US and Australia." Nutrients 6.11 (2014): 5312-5326. Nicholson, Helen. "Participation as art." Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance 18.1 (2013): 1-3. Novak, Julia. "Performing the poet, reading (to) the audience: Some thoughts on live poetry as literary communication." Journal of Literary Theory 6.2 (2012): 358-382. Puhl, Rebecca, Joerg Luedicke, and Jamie Lee Peterson. "Public reactions to obesity-related health campaigns: a randomized controlled trial." American journal of preventive medicine 45.1 (2013): 36-48. Sloman, Annie. "Using participatory theatre in international community development." Community Development Journal 47.1 (2012): 42-57. Tony, Jackson. "Learning through Theatre–new perspectives on Theatre in Education." London ; New York : Routledge,1993. Read More

They may make significant decisions basing on the knowledge they gain on how they may live with obesity for their entire lives. In the study, the experiences of the participants will be used so as to understand and explore what they understand by the term obesity. The participants will address obesity from a wide range of perspective beginning with personal, community, and national perspectives so as to get a clear understanding on how they view obesity. Thereafter, a forum theatre work about obesity will be developed and presented to invited guests.

Various articles on obesity will be provided to enable participants get a wide idea on the aspects of obesity. So as to acquire a complete image of obesity, it will be significant to expand the knowledge of the participants on the facets and actuality about obesity outside their personal experiences and knowledge. Topic Statement The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of young adult an institution environment as they assess obesity in their personal lives and the community as a whole.

The study will make use of theatre for social change in creating and performing theatre work. Research Questions 1. Do the experience of addressing the issue of obesity in theatre work impact the how the young adults understand and react to the issue of obesity? 2. What is the understanding of the young adults on the issue of obesity? 3. What is the link amid repression and obesity? 4. What is the meaning of creating safe space in theatre setting? The Need for the Study Obesity is one of the most disturbing issues in the current society and obesity rates have increased significantly in the developed countries.

Specifically in Australia, the obesity rates are increasing than anywhere else in the globe. The report of the global obesity rates indicated that nearly 63% of the young adults are obese. The levels of obesity in Australia are on par with the US. Obesity is associated to high rates of health problems such as heart attack, Type 11 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Previous studies have utilized theatre for social change in the exploration of body image but only a few have explored the issue of obesity.

Hence, this is an excellent area of exploration of study. Literature Review Obese people are greatly stigmatized in the community. These people are susceptible to negative bias, discrimination, and inequality in all social settings. Weight bias has not been challenged in most of the societies (Lee et al., 5320). Due to this, majority of obese people are at great risk of facing discrimination. Theatre refers to a dramatic art of communication (Nicholson 2). Communication refers to the process of passing information through spoken, written, or by use of other medium (Novak 360; ‘Effective Communication’).

Theatre is the natural instinct of human beings and it expresses a wide range of issue experienced in the real world. Theatre work aims at challenging people to perform spoken words as means of communicating in a clear and an artistic manner. It nurtures the sense of confidence and responsibility in the art of communication. The audience is able to recall their experiences through while watching theatre work (Tony 40). Theatre work is informative, educative, and reaches a wide range of the society.

The actors and the audience are the major parties of the theatre performance and the two parties must come together for theatre work to be successful (Boal 16). Augusto Boal developed the theatre for social change which aimed at exploring, interrogating, and solving both interior and exterior oppressions people face. Augusto Boal was a Brazilian theatre practitioner who started his work in Brazil and later extended to Europe. Boal established his work and practices (TO) after realizing the need for helping oppressed persons explore methods which will take them out of their situation at hand.

His techniques make use of theatre to promote social and political change. In the TO, the spec-actors get active and they explore, demonstrate, asses, and change the reality in which they live in.

Read More