The Biological and ecological approaches to studying type 2 diabetes
Anthropology utilizes six main approaches to understanding human health. Two of these approaches are biological and ecological. The biological approach involves studying one’s environment, their genetics, and the choices that individuals make related to their health such as their diet. This approach is useful for studying type 2 diabetes in that various diets can be compared, the effects of the environment can be studied, and the genetics of different people can be looked at to see what type of role each plays in the development of diabetes. The ecological approach involves studying how political interactions, cultural beliefs and practices, and changes to the global environment affect human health and disease. This anthropological approach is also useful in the study of diabetes because it provides insight into adaption and how people cope with the disease. It may also reveal that adaption influenced the development of the disease itself.
It is our adaption as a species that seems to be the key
An article by Dr. Frank B. Hu titled "Diet, Lifestyle, and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Women" describes the risk factors that affect the amount of type 2 diabetes found in women. Dr. Hu conducted a study that followed the diet of women from 1976 to 1992. The study found that body mass index was the largest factor leading to diabetes, followed by lack of exercise, poor diet, and smoking (see Figure 1 for some common factors). In the Unnatural Causes episode “Bad Sugar,” the O’odham/Pima people in southern Arizona are examined for having such a high incidence of type 2 diabetes (Figure 2). The episode suggests that many factors, most importantly the transition away from farming around nearby rivers to government food programs and poverty, have led to the O’odham’s current predicament. The stress of being economically disadvantaged and trying to adapt to poor circumstances predisposes people to the exact risk factors listed in Dr. Hu’s study. It is our adaption as a species that seems to be the key to understanding and treating diabetes long-term.
In her article “Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives,” Ann McElroy explains the use of medical ecology as it relates to disease and human adaption. McElroy says that medical ecology and the political economy of health have merged into one ecological field. This anthropological method is being used to look for disease factors outside of groups simply having “bad genes” (McElroy 3-4). This “political ecology of health” method would be especially useful in studying type 2 diabetes because it would peer into the biological, ecological, and cultural reasons for diabetes in various groups of people. Obtaining this type of information would allow anthropologists to suggest specific government policies and medical treatments that would directly impact the amount of diabetes seen in any given group. Anthropologists may well hold the keys to successful human adaption around type 2 diabetes going forward.
In her article “Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives,” Ann McElroy explains the use of medical ecology as it relates to disease and human adaption. McElroy says that medical ecology and the political economy of health have merged into one ecological field. This anthropological method is being used to look for disease factors outside of groups simply having “bad genes” (McElroy 3-4). This “political ecology of health” method would be especially useful in studying type 2 diabetes because it would peer into the biological, ecological, and cultural reasons for diabetes in various groups of people. Obtaining this type of information would allow anthropologists to suggest specific government policies and medical treatments that would directly impact the amount of diabetes seen in any given group. Anthropologists may well hold the keys to successful human adaption around type 2 diabetes going forward.
Hu, Frank B., Manson, JoAnn E., et al. “Diet, Lifestyle, and the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Women.” The New England Journal of Medicine 305 (2001) 790-797. Accessed July 12, 2014. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa010492.
McElroy, Ann. "Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives," in Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology (Kluwer, 2004), 31-37.
* The New York Academy of Sciences. “Type 2 Diabetes Disparities in Ethnic Minorities.” Accessed July 12, 2014. http://www.nyas.org/Publications/Ebriefings/Detail.aspx?cid=cb49f35f-b765-435f-a53a-e05bde1bd705.
** University of California, San Francisco. “What is Type 2 Diabetes?” Accessed July 12, 2014. http://dtc.ucsf.edu/types-of-diabetes/type2/understanding-type-2-diabetes/what-is-type-2-diabetes.
McElroy, Ann. "Evolutionary and Ecological Perspectives," in Encyclopedia of Medical Anthropology (Kluwer, 2004), 31-37.
* The New York Academy of Sciences. “Type 2 Diabetes Disparities in Ethnic Minorities.” Accessed July 12, 2014. http://www.nyas.org/Publications/Ebriefings/Detail.aspx?cid=cb49f35f-b765-435f-a53a-e05bde1bd705.
** University of California, San Francisco. “What is Type 2 Diabetes?” Accessed July 12, 2014. http://dtc.ucsf.edu/types-of-diabetes/type2/understanding-type-2-diabetes/what-is-type-2-diabetes.