Examining the Social Implications of Obesity - Research Paper Example

?Running Head: EXAMINING THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF OBESITY Examining the Social Implications of Obesity Examining the Social Implications of Obesity Introduction A general perception of obesity in most Western nations is that obese people lead very different lives as compared to individuals who are not obese. This is because it is felt that society treats the obese much worse than individuals of a normal weight because of prejudicial attitudes and stereotypes that are reinforced by a variety of sources (Carr and Friedman, 2006; Puhl et al. 2007). The most commonly identified source of such negative beliefs is the mass media, but other societal institutions such as the public education and medical systems also playa significant role in how the obese are stereotyped. Specific examples of stereotypes are that obese people are lazy and thus are less productive workers; that they have no self-control when they are eating; and that they over-present a good-natured personality in their social relationships because they are afraid of being socially excluded. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this research is to explore the extent to which the everyday lives of obese persons are mediated by a set of socially constructed meanings and how those meanings are present in their social relationships. Moreover, particular interest is paid to the process of establishing and maintaining different types of social relationships and how those bonds are considered to be both meaningful and satisfying. The relationship between being obese and losing weight to be socially accepted will also explored as another area where meaning is socially constructed. Review of the Literature: Obesity and Stigma The subject of obesity has been studied sociologically since the early 1960's, most commonly within the concentration of deviance and social control. Specifically, much of this work has focused its attention on how obesity is a kind of physical deviance and is stigmatized because of the external cues it possesses. Stigmatization stems from the possession of an "attribute or characteristic that conveys a social identity that is devalued in a particular social context" (Crocker cited in Abrams et al. 2004). More widely accepted stigmas associate obesity with laziness, social and sexual undesirability, and the externality theory of eating, which states that an obese individual, if given the opportunity, will eat large quantities of food regardless of how hungry he or she is (Puhl & Brownell, 2003a; Maykovich, 1978). An example of a more remote stigma can be found historically and, to a lesser extent, currently amongst some traditional religious circles who stigmatize the obese on the belief that they are gluttons who lack a moral self ­restraint in their eating practices that will lead to their religious damnation (Puhl & Brownell, 2003a). In his work on stigma Goffman (1963) briefly noted that the stigmatization of obesity is based on the principle of visibility, which he defines to be "how well or how badly the stigma is adapted to provide means of communicating that the individual possesses it" (p. 48). In terms of that communication there are three conditions which must be addressed in order to determine how visible and prevalent a stigma actually is. The first condition has to do with how much is already known about what causes the stigma for a given individual who possesses it (Goffman, 1963, p.49). To apply this notion, if previous interactions with an obese person were to have revealed that his or her obesity was caused by factors beyond his or her control and that argument was convincing, based on what knowledge was available to justify the presence of obesity, perhaps that obese person would less likely be stigmatized by whoever were included within those interactions. Moreover, because obesity is based on external cues, it may negatively affect an obese person's ability or willingness to include him or herself in situations that require social interaction. This addresses the second condition of the visibility of a stigma, particularly how much the stigmatized condition obstructs or interferes with a stigmatized individual's ability to interact with others. Goffman (1963) argues that when an already stigmatized condition is "immediately perceivable" in a situation of social interaction, its presence will vary in magnitude according to how much it interferes with the conduct in that situation (p.49). This may have to do with how large the obese person is and, again, the amount of knowledge the people he or she is interacting with have of him or her and of obesity in general. Accordingly, it can be argued that the amount of interference in interactions experienced by the obese is determined by the nature and duration of the interactions that they choose to place themselves in on a daily basis. Finally, Goffman (1963) argues that the third condition to determine the visibility of a stigma has to do with the "perceived focus" of a situation, as some stigmas have greater visibility and relevance in particular situations than in others (p.49). Presumably, in situations that do not require physical contact the stigma of obesity should have little to no effect unless it is somehow stipulated that it should. This is notwithstanding that some face-to-face situations cannot be avoided and the stigma of obesity, in relative degrees, is likely to be present in them. Hence, to consciously avoid recognizing the obesity stigma is simply another means of acknowledging its existence. Determining exact sources of stigmatization against the obese is very problematic. What has been asserted is that the obese are stigmatized and devalued because they presumably do not meet the multi-layered and socially constructed expectations of what constitutes the ideal body within our society (Mayer, 1968, p.85; Puhl & Brownell, 2003b). In Western culture, the conception of the perfect body is one that is thin and under constant regulation, regardless of the social circumstances in which it is constituted. This kind of regulation is typically associated with a person monitoring their weight by watching what they eat and exercising regularly, but can also entail them having social relationships with individuals who partake in the same bodily maintenance practices as themselves. This follows the logic of the social consensus approach, which argues that like-minded individuals tend to look the same, and thus they act as a vehicle of support for one another's appearance (Puhl & Brownell, 2003a, p. 221). Sociology and Obesity In terms of sociological research conducted outside of the concentration of deviance, it has been asserted that differences in the prevalence rates of obesity reflect how the allocation and consumption of resources across social groups influence and are influenced by those groups' cultural norms regarding issues of weight, body image, and social definitions of beauty (Peters et al., 2002). However, it is argued by Lebesco (2004) that the obese are unable to belong to any "normal" social group or set of cultural conditions because they do not regard themselves as belonging to a group with each other (p.27). What this perpetuates is a lack of legitimate social positioning or an obese "statuslessness" that makes it difficult for them to collectively pool their resources. As Lebesco (2004) argues, "any plan that assumes people will organize and does not provide them with some kind of socially conceivable forum in which to do it is destined to fail" (p.28). It has also been determined that the average obese individual in the developed world tends to be of a lower Socio-Economic Status or S.E.S. However, these findings have been partially contested, as it has been demonstrated by Zhang & Wang (2004) that this trend may differ across the sexes, as men of a high SES are significantly more likely to be overweight than men of a low SES, with the opposite relationship existing for women. Zhang & Wang's findings also substantiate other work that has demonstrated that white ethnic groups are more likely to be obese than non­whites (Kolata, 1985). As well, an individual's sex, race, and social class are also determinants of whether he or she will seek treatment for their obese health condition and utilize the appropriate healthcare resources that might effectively help him or her. What constitutes the most successful forms of treatment is a highly contested issue and currently there is little data that can substantiate which groups utilize such services more than others. Obesity as a social problem has further been conceptualized as being an issue of individual identity intertwined with the practices of consumption that are considered acceptable within particular social contexts. For instance, the participant observation work of Maykovich (1978) concluded that the amount of food that an obese person consumed on a regular basis was related to both the company they ate with and the social context in which they were eating. In Maykovich's (1978) study, it was demonstrated that obese individuals tend to consume large quantities of food, which are considered unhealthy, when they are in the presence of other obese persons who are consuming the same foods, but are also likely to consume healthy and significantly less quantities of food when they are dining with normal-weighted individuals. To this extent, it has also been demonstrated that people, regardless of their weight, tend to eat larger quantities of food when they are dining with a partner who is of their same-sex and embodies the same socially constructed characteristics, for example masculinity and femininity, as themselves (Conger et. al, 1980; Ricciardelli et al, 1998). Finally, being obese can have serious social implications in terms of a person's age. An example of this is Himes' (2000) study of how obesity worsens the physical limitations experienced by senior citizens, as well as their social well-being. In this study, Himes found that the presence and addition of excess weight contributed to a decline in the functional mobility and overall activity level of some seniors, as compared to other seniors who were able to maintain a healthy body weight as they became progressively older. Moreover, in terms of the meanings that adults attribute to the addition of body weight as they get older, Ziebland et al. (2002) found that some adults consider weight increases simply an inevitability that comes with old age, despite not wanting to gain any additional weight. Although Ziebland et al. also found that those same people are likely to think of their weight gain as a precursor to other potential health problems, such as heart disease and diabetes, which would arise as they became older. Method of Research Research Design The research methodology that will be used for this study is the qualitative-exploratory method. According to Stebbins (2001), researchers use the exploratory method when there is "little or no scientific knowledge about the group, process, activity or situation they want to examine but nevertheless have reason to believe it contains elements worth discovering" (p.6). Although, a great deal of research has already been conducted on obesity and its relation to deviant behaviour and the violation of social norms (Hughes & Degher, 1993). However, because there is limited research that addresses obese individuals' personal and formal relationships, the choice is made to use the qualitative-exploratory research method for this project. Sampling Theoretical sampling is the main sampling method that will be used for this study. Developed by Glaser & Strauss (1967), it is defined as "the process of data collection for generating theory whereby the analyst jointly collects, codes, and analyzes his data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them." (p. 45). This study will select 25 to 30 obese individuals from the general population and incorporate the content from those interviews with other sources of data. Inclusion /Exclusion Criteria The main sampling criterion for this study is the self-acknowledgement or self-perception of being obese and the recognition that obesity have an impact within an individual's social life to the extent that it has been a motivating factor to pursue strategies of weight loss and weight management. This kind of theoretical convenience sampling corresponds with previous research that has been conducted on obesity where participants were recruited without the direct use of clinical measures such as the body mass index (Bidgood & Buckroyd, 2005; Byrne et al., 2003). However, the BMI measure will be calculated for each study participant to get a sense of how much each participant is at risk for developing obesity co-morbidities. Obese individuals will also be recruited regardless of their sex, race, marital status, or social class. As well, all interested participants will be required to be over 18 years of age when they will be interviewed. Data Collection In this exploratory qualitative research design, open-ended interviews will be the main data collection technique. These interviews will be arranged either by phone or email. All of the interviews will be completely voluntary, and will be arranged at a participant's convenience. Data Analysis Following the guidelines of Glaser and Strauss (1967), the constant comparative method will be used to analyse the interview data. The constant comparative method, as defined by Glaser and Strauss, involves the joint collection, coding, and analysis of research data, from sources that are relevant to a subject matter, to generate theory. In the use of the comparative method, theory is mainly generated by theoretical sampling, which is the process where a researcher "collects, codes, and analyses [his or her] data and decides what data to collect next and where to find them, in order to develop [his or her] theory as it emerges" (Glaser & Strauss, 1967, p. 45). For this study, the constant comparative method will be used to create categories and theoretical concepts based on similarities and differences in the interview data. This will involve following a two-step procedure of open coding, where substantive content will be examined to determine what are the most relevant and important to address about the topic in further interviews. The data will be organized and compared according to their similarities and differences (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Glaser and Strauss (1967) also argue that the constant comparative method should be used until theoretical saturation is reached and no additional data can be collected that would allow further comparison and expand the understanding of what is relevant and important to a topic under study (p.65). Ethical Considerations This study is ethical for a variety of reasons. In order to address ethical concerns, informed consent form will be provided to the participants. All the participants will be informed that their participation is completely voluntary. All interested participants will be made aware of the study's research goals, as well as its ethical mandates. In addition, participants will be allowed to withdraw their participation at any time and that no financial incentives would be offered as compensation for their participation. Participants could also refuse to answer specific questions in the interview and withdraw their participation at any time. The informed consent form will also address the issues of participant anonymity and confidentiality. Anonymity of the participants will be ensured by offering each interviewee the option to choose a pseudonym for themselves. Confidentiality will be ensured by removing any names or identifying characteristics of the participants from all research records, including interview transcripts and notes from each interview, interview summaries, and the written arrangement details of each interview such as mailing or email addresses and phone numbers. To avoid physical harm participants will be given the choice as to when and where their interview should take place. To circumvent the risk of psychological harm, participants will be treated with the utmost respect, consideration, and sympathy. References Abrams D., Hogg, A., Marques J. (2004). The social psychology of inclusion and exclusion. 1st edition. Psychology Press. Bidgood, J. and Buckroyd, J. (2005). An Exploration of Obese Adults' Experience of Attempting to Lose Weight and To Maintain a Reduced Weight. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 5(3): 221-229. Byrne, S., Cooper, Z. and Fairburn, C. (2003). 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