Obesity from a sociologycal perspective

             What is like to live as an obese person in our society at a time when obesity and fat individuals are increasingly disparaged? How does being overweight come to dominate a person's social identity and self-concept? These are the type of questions that I address in my research with the aim to answer social controversies around the concept of obesity. I want to explain how society's discrimination and stereotypes affects the lives and behaviour of obese people. Before the 1900's, obesity was a symbol of beauty, health and wealth, however, in today's society, obesity is depicted as an abnormality. Nevertheless, with continuous research and experiments, society has developed split views about the foundation of obesity and distinct definitions about the abnormality of obesity. While some scientist and sociologist believe that obesity is the product of the environment, others believe that it lies in genetics. Furthermore, within these two views, I will talk about environmental factor that influence obesity such as stereotype and discrimination, desexualization, self-esteem, the media, disembodiment and poverty. Also, I will talk about some of the medical research done in obesity and the evidence that suggest that obesity is not a choice.
             I strongly believe, that the interactionist theory applies to obesity, where the cause of it is neither environment nor genetics alone, but in the interaction of both. I will further explain how society contributes to obesity, where the argument is that the effort to lose weight should be secondary to the effort to understand the meaning of being overweight. The negative reaction and anxiety aroused by obesity cannot be adequately explained by the argument that obesity is unhealthy. Many other things that we do to ourselves are unhealthy, such as drugs and alcohol, yet they do not incite the same kind of shame, hostility and disapproval. Clearly, obesity has become mytho...

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Obesity from a sociologycal perspective. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 15:43, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/25076.html