scholarly journals Social support, nutrition and health among women in rural Bangladesh: complex tradeoffs in allocare, kin proximity and support network size

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1827) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary K. Shenk ◽  
Anne Morse ◽  
Siobhán M. Mattison ◽  
Rebecca Sear ◽  
Nurul Alam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Iron Deficiency ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Iron Nutrition ◽  
Maternal Child Health ◽  
Rural Bangladesh

Malnutrition among women of reproductive age is a significant public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. Of particular concern are undernutrition from underweight and iron deficiency, along with overweight and obesity, all of which have negative health consequences for mothers and children. Accumulating evidence suggests that risk for poor nutritional outcomes may be mitigated by social support, yet how social support is measured varies tremendously and its effects likely vary by age, kinship and reproductive status. We examine the effects of different measures of social support on weight and iron nutrition among 677 randomly sampled women from rural Bangladesh. While we find that total support network size mitigates risk for underweight, other results point to a potential tradeoff in the effects of kin proximity, with nearby adult children associated with both lower risk for underweight and obesity and higher risk for iron deficiency and anaemia. Social support from kin may then enhance energy balance but not diet quality. Results also suggest that a woman's network of caregivers might reflect their greater need for help, as those who received more help with childcare and housework had worse iron nutrition. Overall, although some findings support the hypothesis that social support can be protective, others emphasize that social relationships often have neutral or negative effects, illustrating the kinds of tradeoffs expected from an evolutionary perspective. The complexities of these effects deserve attention in future work, particularly within public health, where what is defined as ‘social support' is often assumed to be positive. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Multidisciplinary perspectives on social support and maternal–child health'.

Familial support impacts incarcerated women ' s housing stability

2015 ◽  
Vol 18 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 80-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Harris ◽  
Ruth Elwood Martin ◽  
Heather Filek ◽  
Ann C Macaulay ◽  
Jane A. Buxton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Incarcerated Women ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Housing Instability ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Housing Stability ◽  
Participatory Health Research

Purpose – This participatory health research project of researchers and women prisoners examined housing and homelessness as perceived by incarcerated women to understand this public health concern and help guide policy. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – A participatory research team designed and conducted a survey of 83 incarcerated women in BC, Canada. Using descriptive statistics, the authors examined socio-demographic factors related to social support networks and family housing and women’s housing preference upon release. Findings – In total, 44 percent of participants reported no family home upon release while 31 percent reported lost family ties due to their incarceration. Most vulnerable subpopulations were women aged 25-34, aboriginal women and those with multiple incarcerations. Housing preferences differed between participants suggesting needs for varied options. Further implementation, evaluation and appraisal of social programs are required. Research limitations/implications – This study surveyed one correctional facility: future research could utilize multiple centers. Practical implications – Addressing housing instability among released incarcerated individuals is important fiscally and from a public health lens. Improved discharge planning and housing stability is needed through policy changes and social programs. A social support network, “Women in2 Healing,” has developed from the research group to address these issues. Social implications – Housing stability and recidivism are closely linked: providing stable housing options will lessen the social, fiscal and medical burden of individuals returning to crime, substance abuse, illness and poverty. Originality/value – Housing instability addresses an important social determinant of health and focussing on incarcerated women builds upon a small body of literature.

Reframing Fatness: Critiquing ‘Obesity’

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bethan Evans ◽  
Charlotte Cooper
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Weight Loss ◽  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Concern ◽  
Policy Language ◽  
Religious Imagery ◽  
Fat Bodies

Over the last twenty years or so, fatness, pathologised as overweight and obesity, has been a core public health concern around which has grown a lucrative international weight loss industry. Referred to as a ‘time bomb’ and ‘the terror within’, analogies of ‘war’ circulate around obesity, framing fatness as enemy.2 Religious imagery and cultural and moral ideologies inform medical, popular and policy language with the ‘sins’ of ‘gluttony’ and ‘sloth’, evoked to frame fat people as immoral at worst and unknowledgeable victims at best, and understandings of fatness intersect with gender, class, age, sexuality, disability and race to make some fat bodies more problematically fat than others. As Evans and Colls argue, drawing on Michel Foucault, a combination of medical and moral knowledges produces the powerful ‘obesity truths’ through which fatness is framed as universally abject and pathological. Dominant and medicalised discourses of fatness (as obesity) leave little room for alternative understandings.

Social Support and Well-Being: Preliminary Indicators Based on Two Samples of the Elderly

1986 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary J. Levitt ◽  
Toni C. Antonucci ◽  
M. Cherie Clark ◽  
James Rotton ◽  
Gordon E. Finley
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Supportive Relationships ◽  
Two Samples

The structure of social support and its relation to health, affect, and life satisfaction are compared for two samples of the elderly. The first is a national representative sample; the second is a distressed sample from South Miami Beach. Although there are similarities in the structure of social support across the two groups, those in the Miami Beach sample report fewer support figures, and far fewer within geographic proximity, than do those in the national sample. This comparative network impoverishment is particularly marked for male respondents and is accentuated by a high number of isolates in this group. In addition, stronger relationships are found between support network size and affect, and among affect, life satisfaction, and health in the South Miami Beach sample. Older men in poor health and without supportive relationships are targeted as a particularly high risk subgroup. The discussion includes a focus on personal, situational, and life span differences related to variations in support and well-being and a consideration of implications for more recent waves of elderly sun-belt migrants.

scholarly journals An epidemiological study of the prevalence and determinants of overweight and obesity in women of reproductive age (15 to 49 years) group in an urban slum

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 2460
Author(s):  
Pratibha U. Mulik ◽  
Sudam R. Suryawanshi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Urban Slum ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Reproductive Age ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Age Group ◽  
History Of

Background: After comparing data of NFHS-3 and 4, prevalence of overweight and obesity in women of an urban population almost doubled in 10 yr. So, the causes of increasing prevalence need to be studied as public health concern. Objective of the study is to determine prevalence of overweight and obesity among reproductive age group (15-49 years) of women in an urban slum of Mumbai.Methods: Total 220 women were selected among 11 sectors from A to K by simple random method and data collected by using validated questionnaire. WHO’s classification was used to classify as overweight and obese.Results: Out of 220 women participated in study, 14 (6.36%) were obese, 75 (34.09%) were overweight according to BMI and 17 (7.7%) were found to be obese according to waist to hip ratio. From the present study it was seen that age group of the women, socio economic class, education, history of hypothyroidism, family history of obesity, types of work women do, hours of television watching, calorie and fat intake, had a significant relationship with BMI, whereas physical exercise they used to do and tendency to sleep in the afternoon and hours of sleep in the night had non-significant relationship with BMI.Conclusions: Obesity and overweight is found to be a growing public health problem and can be preventable. Interventional measures include developing healthy eating habits, regular moderate physical exercise, sleeping habits, health camps for screening of overweight and obesity.

scholarly journals Physical activity and health in Chinese children and adolescents: expert consensus statement (2020)

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (22) ◽  
pp. 1321-1331
Author(s):  
Peijie Chen ◽  
Dengfeng Wang ◽  
Hongbing Shen ◽  
Lijuan Yu ◽  
Qian Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Consensus Statement ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Chinese Children ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Activity Promotion ◽  
Chinese Children And Adolescents

China is experiencing significant public health challenges related to social and demographic transitions and lifestyle transformations following unprecedented economic reforms four decades ago. Of particular public health concern is the fourfold increase in overweight and obesity rates in the nation’s youth population, coupled with the low prevalence of adolescents meeting recommended levels of physical activity. Improving the overall health of China’s more than 170 million children and adolescents has become a national priority. However, advancing nationwide health initiatives and physical activity promotion in this population has been hampered by the lack of a population-specific and culturally relevant consensus on recommendations for achieving these ends. To address this deficiency and inform policies to achieve Healthy China 2030 goals, a panel of Chinese experts, complemented by international professionals, developed this consensus statement. The consensus was achieved through an iterative process that began with a literature search from electronic databases; in-depth reviews, conducted by a steering committee, of the resulting articles; and panel group evaluations and discussions in the form of email correspondence, conference calls and written communications. Ultimately, the panel agreed on 10 major themes with strong scientific evidence that, in children and adolescents aged 6–17, participating in moderate to vigorous physical activities led to multiple positive health outcomes. Our consensus statement also (1) highlights major challenges in promoting physical activity, (2) identifies future research that addresses current knowledge gaps, and (3) provides recommendations for teachers, education experts, parents and policymakers for promoting physical activity among Chinese school-aged children and adolescents. This consensus statement aligns with international efforts to develop global physical activity guidelines to promote physical activity and health and prevent lifestyle-related diseases in children and adolescents. More importantly, it provides a foundation for developing culturally appropriate and effective physical activity interventions, health promotion strategies and policy initiatives to improve the health of Chinese children and adolescents.

scholarly journals Social support networks of older migrants in England and Wales: the role of collectivist culture

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 1453-1477 ◽  
Author(s):  
VANESSA BURHOLT ◽  
CHRISTINE DOBBS ◽  
CHRISTINA VICTOR
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Latent Profile Analysis ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Regression ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Support Network ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Black Caribbean ◽  
Multigenerational Household

ABSTRACTThis article tests the fit of a social support network typology developed for collectivist cultures to six migrant populations living in England and Wales. We examine the predictive utility of the typology to identify networks most vulnerable to poor quality of life and loneliness. Variables representing network size, and the proportion of the network classified by gender, age, kin and proximity, were used in confirmatory and exploratory latent profile analysis to fit models to the data (N = 815; Black African, Black Caribbean, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese). Multinomial logistic regression examined associations between demographic variables and network types. Linear regression examined associations between network types and wellbeing outcomes. A four-profile model was selected.Multigenerational Household: Younger Familynetworks were most robust with lowest levels of loneliness and greatest quality of life.Restricted Non-kinnetworks were least robust.Multigenerational Household: Younger Familynetworks were most prevalent for all but the Black Caribbean migrants. The typology is able to differentiate between networks with multigenerational households and can help identify vulnerable networks. There are implications for forecasting formal services and variation in networks between cultures. The use of a culturally appropriate typology could impact on the credibility of gerontological research.

The Effects of Loss of Loved Ones on Life Satisfaction Among Residents in a Southwest Retirement Community

2011 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Sun ◽  
Vincent Waldron ◽  
Richard Gitelson ◽  
Ching-hua Ho
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Life Satisfaction ◽  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Mail Survey ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Retirement Community ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Life Dissatisfaction ◽  
Received Social Support ◽  
Community Data

The authors examine the roles of social connectedness in mediating the relation between the loss of loved ones and life satisfaction in older residents living in a retirement community. Data were collected through a mail survey on a random sample of 734 older residents ( M age = 67 years, SD = 9.6 years) in a retirement community in the Southwest. Analyses were conducted using SPSS macros for estimating the indirect effects through multiple mediators. Participants who experienced the loss of loved ones in life reported statistically significantly higher life dissatisfaction scores than those who reported no such loss. The effects of loss on perceived life dissatisfaction were partially mediated by individual connectedness and satisfaction with received social support but not by support network size or collective connectedness. Interventions with older adults who experienced loss in life need to help alleviate their loneliness and increase their satisfaction with social support.

scholarly journals A study on prevalence of overweight and obesity in school going adolescents and its association with socio-demographic factors in Lucknow district

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
pp. 3792
Author(s):  
Sudhanshu Mishra ◽  
Pratibha Gupta ◽  
Mrinal Ranjan Srivastava ◽  
Beena Sachan ◽  
Zeashan Haider Zaidi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Class ◽  
Sample Size ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Demographic Factors ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Health Concern ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors

Background: Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that presents a risk to health. Obesity has become a global public health issue and is widely recognized as a key risk factor for coronary heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and many other health problems. The objectives of present study were to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity and its association with socio-demographic factors amongst school-going adolescents in Lucknow district.Methods: This study was a school-based cross-sectional study and was carried out in urban and rural areas of Lucknow, from January 2018 to June 2018. Sample size was 620. A multi-stage random sampling technique has been used to select the required sample size. Data analysis was done using software MS Office excel and SPSS 18 for windows.Results: A total of 620 adolescents were studied. Majority (82.1%) of adolescents were found to be non-overweight/obese while 17.9% were found to be overweight/obese. Majority (66.7%) of students were overweight or obese, belonging to social class I while only 15.7% students were overweight or obese belonging to social class V.Conclusions: The results of our study show that overweight/obesity continues to be a public health concern in adolescents. The current study shows that adolescent overweight and obesity are increasing even in low socio-economic status. Emphasis should be placed on awareness program for obesity prevention among school students by strengthening lifestyle change.

scholarly journals SOCIAL SUPPORT NETWORK SIZE AND GENDER COMPOSITION ACROSS THE ADULT LIFE SPAN

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. 999-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Smith ◽  
J Wilson ◽  
J Strough ◽  
A Parker ◽  
W Bruine de Bruin
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Life Span ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Gender Composition ◽  
Support Network ◽  
Social Support Network ◽  
Adult Life Span ◽  
And Gender

scholarly journals Social Support Network among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Iran

2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ameneh Setareh Forouzan ◽  
Zahra Jorjoran Shushtari ◽  
Homeira Sajjadi ◽  
Yahya Salimi ◽  
Masoumeh Dejman
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Network Size ◽  
Support Network ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Social Support Network ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Cd4 Cell Count ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Aids

This study considers social network interactions as a potential source of support for individuals living with HIV/AIDS in Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 224 people with HIV/AIDS who refer to behavioral counseling centers. Participants were randomly selected among all people with HIV/AIDS from these centers. Relatives were more reported as sources of support than nonrelatives. They were closer to participants, but there was difference between the closest type among relative and nonrelative supporters(P=0.01). Mean of functional support with considering the attainable range 0–384 was low(126.74  (SD=76.97)). Social support of participants has been found to be associated with CD4 cell count(P=0.000), sex(P=0.049), and network size(P=0.000)after adjusted for other variables in the final model. Totally, in this study, many of participants had the static social support network that contained large proportions of family and relatives. The findings contribute to the evidence for promotion of knowledge about social support network and social support of people living with HIV/AIDS.

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