Wilson Caroline
Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, UK.
Anthropol Med. 2010 Dec;17(3):261-75. doi: 10.1080/13648470.2010.526699.
The state of Kerala, south India, has particularly high prevalence rates for cardiovascular disease (20%, Sugathan, Soman and Sankaranarayanan 2008) and Type II diabetes (16.3%, Kutty, Joseph, and Soman 1999). Although so-called 'lifestyle' diseases can be prevented and symptoms controlled by diet, exercise, and medicines, heart disease and diabetes have become the most common causes of suffering, disability and death. This article explores the social dynamics transforming consumer lifestyles as increased food consumption, reduced physical activity and social stress contribute to the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD). It examines the centrality of food to ideas of the 'good life', to nurture social relationships and strengthen weak modern bodies, as the principle source of embodied pleasure and health. It explores the micro and macro politics of eating and feasting, limiting the extent to which 'individuals' (can) control food habits. Thus, despite widespread recognition of the relationship between diet, exercise and heart disease, the flow of food, the immediacy of pleasure, and associations between appetite and health override latent concerns about the negative impacts of dietary excesses on long-term health and chronic illness. Findings are discussed to highlight the inherent limitations of public health interventions focusing on education and individual choice.
印度南部的喀拉拉邦，心血管疾病（患病率20%，Sugathan、Soman和Sankaranarayanan，2008年）和II型糖尿病（患病率16.3%，Kutty、Joseph和Soman，1999年）的发病率尤其高。尽管所谓的“生活方式”疾病可以通过饮食、运动和药物来预防并控制症状，但心脏病和糖尿病已成为痛苦、残疾和死亡的最常见原因。本文探讨了随着食物消费增加、体力活动减少和社会压力导致心血管疾病（CVD）负担加重，改变消费者生活方式的社会动态。它审视了食物对于“美好生活”理念的核心地位，食物在培育社会关系和强健虚弱的现代身体方面的作用，食物作为身体愉悦和健康的主要来源。它探究了饮食和宴请的微观与宏观政治，限制了“个人”对饮食习惯的控制程度。因此，尽管人们普遍认识到饮食、运动与心脏病之间的关系，但食物的流动、愉悦的即时性，以及食欲与健康之间的关联，压倒了对饮食过量对长期健康和慢性病负面影响的潜在担忧。文中对研究结果进行了讨论，以突出侧重于教育和个人选择的公共卫生干预措施的内在局限性。
