Question

Using the Conrad & Barker (2010) reading:

What is one key finding of social constructionism? Explain and provide examples.

Have you noticed this before in daily life and/or the medical field?

After reading the links on BMI:

How is BMI socially constructed?

Is using BMI a good indicator of health? Why or why not?

Has the use of BMI by the medical field influenced your perception of health? Discuss.

Answer 1

The key finding of social constuctionism is that

a) the impairment refers to a physical illness or injury and

b) disabilty is the social experience of impairment.

Illness can reshape an individuals identity e.g.. deafness can be a cultural identity that suppresses individuals Identity

In daily life or in medical field if an individual is mentally disturbed or physically handicapped he is looked upon not as a normal human being with his identity but with disorders benchmark as an identity.

How is BMI socially constructed:

• The body mass index, which measures obesity, as the main factor to define obesity, has resulted in media greatly overstating the rise of the condition.
• According to kwan, ass. sociology professor while there may be rise in obesity the BMI IS not always accurate. Some scholars describe this epidemic more as a moral panic.while there may be some truths to rising rates , they have been overstated.

BMI is not a good indication of healthy weight according to researchers :

Because BMI calculation divides people into 4 categories

a) people who are underweight, with score less than 18.5 .

b) overweight with score of 25 to 25.9.

C) normal weight with score of 18.5 to 24.9.

d) obese with a score of 30 or greater.

This calculation on height and weight alone, however, doesn't take into account a person's bone, muscle or fat propositions . E.g.. a person with exceptional muscle tone and low fat is more likely to have higher BMI compared to someone with higher fat and lower muscle tone. This happens because muscle is 4 times as dense as fat tissue.

In fact, many professionals football players BMI's would place them in the obese category when they are actually in better shape than average person.