Question 1

Which of these activities involve embodied signaling?

Accepted Answer

Each activity listed (A through D) involves using the body or alterations to the body to communicate social, cultural, or personal identity, affiliations, or values, which are forms of embodied signaling.

Question 2

Populations affected by the 'nutritional transition' are:

Accepted Answer

Populations affected by the nutritional transition are more prone to non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke due to changes in diet and lifestyle. These diseases are often linked to overconsumption of processed foods and high levels of sugar, salt, and saturated fats.

Question 3

What are some downsides of the 'nutrition transition' that accompanies industrialization?

Accepted Answer

The 'nutrition transition' often involves shifts towards diets high in processed foods and sugars, which can be involuntary due to factors like capitalism supporting pollution that makes it dangerous to live off the land. This transition can lead to negative health outcomes, contradicting the idea that it protects against modern diseases or stops the epidemiological transition.

Question 4

The 'nutrition transition':

Accepted Answer

All of the options listed are accurate statements about the nutrition transition. Migration can lead to changes in diet and access to food, environmental injustices can hinder traditional food systems, colonization can impose foreign diets on populations, and the nutrition transition can result in lower rates of famine and hunger but higher rates of chronic disease.

Question 5

The human body (generally speaking) has not yet evolved to deal with foods containing:

Accepted Answer

Low calorie sugar substitutes are a relatively recent addition to the human diet, and our bodies have not evolved specific mechanisms to process them efficiently, unlike natural sugars which have been part of the human diet for millennia.

Question 6

In truly 'open' societies, social status is NOT:

Accepted Answer

In truly open societies, social status is not determined by birth but rather by factors such as achievement, merit, and effort, making it flexible, earned, and achieved.

Question 7

In 'closed' societies, social class generally is NOT:

Accepted Answer

In 'closed' societies, social class is typically ascribed, birth-based, and fixed, meaning individuals' social positions are determined by their family background and are difficult to change. This contrasts with 'open' societies, where social mobility allows for more flexibility in social class.

Question 8

When we compare the body mass indexes (BMIs) of northern and southern or US-based and Mexico-based Pima (Tohono O'odham), we see that:

Accepted Answer

The lower BMIs of Mexican-based Pima suggest that they have not fully undergone the 'nutrition transition' that has led to higher rates of obesity and diabetes in the US-based Pima. This implies that lifestyle factors such as diet and activity levels may be responsible for higher rates of obesity and diabetes in the US-based Pima, rather than solely genetic factors.

Question 9

Eating a Westernized diet _____ [does what to] the body's fat storage mechanisms, particularly in disadvantaged stressed, and/or minoritized populations.

Accepted Answer

A Westernized diet acts as a lever to set in motion the body's fat storage mechanisms, particularly in disadvantaged stressed, and/or minoritized populations. This is because such a diet typically includes high amounts of processed and high-fat foods, leading to an increase in insulin resistance and inflammation, which can trigger the body to store more fat. This effect is magnified in populations that may already be experiencing stressors from socio-economic or environmental factors.

Question 10

After being on a low-calorie diet for a while, you will have a lower metabolic rate and weight loss will slow down. Why?

Accepted Answer

When you go on a low-calorie diet, your body tries to maintain balance by lowering its metabolic set points. This means that your body becomes more efficient at using fewer calories to perform normal bodily functions. As a result, weight loss slows down.

Question 11

Why might someone whose mother was experiencing hunger during their gestation put on or gain weight easily?

Accepted Answer

As a fetus, they were primed for a life of scarcity, and their bodies store fat for use in hard times. This is known as the thrifty phenotype hypothesis.

Question 12

Cultures generally celebrate fat bodies LESS when they have MORE _______.

Accepted Answer

Cultures tend to celebrate fat bodies less when there is an abundance of food. This is because historically, having a larger body was associated with wealth and status, as it indicated that the individual had access to plenty of food. However, in societies where food is highly available and obesity is a widespread issue, being overweight is no longer seen as a marker of high status, but instead is associated with negative health outcomes.

Question 13

What is the technical term for when men experience morning sickness and other signs of pregnancy as a part of their active participation in gestation?

Accepted Answer

The technical term for when men experience morning sickness and other signs of pregnancy as a part of their active participation in gestation is couvade.

Question 14

'Affiliative' body decoration and modification are:

Accepted Answer

'Affiliative' body decoration and modification refers to those adornments and alterations that are socially accepted and considered conforming to mainstream norms. Permanent and fixed modifications, such as tattoos and piercings, fall under this category. This is in contrast to deviant or counter-cultural modifications (C), which are often associated with subcultures that reject mainstream values. Temporary and flexible decorations (A) are not necessarily affiliative, as they can still be seen as unconventional or non-conforming. Stigmatized modifications (B) are not affiliative either, as they carry negative social judgment and are not widely accepted.

Question 15

In regard to fat females, Azawagh Arab (Moor) people believe that:

Accepted Answer

Azawagh Arab (Moor) people believe that a larger woman is seen as grounding or anchoring her family in a way that a lighter woman cannot. It is not necessarily seen as an indication of laziness or caused by specific dietary or lifestyle factors. In fact, in this culture, weight is more of a symbol of wealth and status rather than a negative attribute.

Question 16

The Fijian idea that fatness signifies a wealth of social connections and financial resources and the old European belief that a small nose indicates that at least one of one's parents was sexually degenerate have what in common?

Accepted Answer

CBoth examples illustrate how physical attributes are interpreted within specific cultural contexts to signify broader social meanings. In the Fijian culture, fatness is seen as a sign of wealth and social connections, while the old European belief associates a small nose with negative ancestral sexual behavior. These examples show the importance of social relationships to an individual's place in society (A) and how the body can be stigmatized based on these cultural interpretations (C).

Question 17

Given the following statements, which best explains recent rises in body weight worldwide?

Accepted Answer

Cheaper foods are often high in calories, leading to an increase in body weight as more people consume them.

Question 18

Which of the following methods of body decoration/modification best demonstrates an everyday, normative affiliation with pertaining to mainstream US society? (not to be confused with 'student society')?

Accepted Answer

Removing all the hair from your lower face (shaving or grooming facial hair) is a normative practice in mainstream US society for many men, particularly in professional settings. It is not seen as extreme body modification or subcultural affiliation, unlike removing all hair from the head or eyebrows or dyeing hair in the colors of the US flag.

Question 19

In the United States, calling shaving (or other forms of hair removal) a 'hygiene' practice masks (obscures; diverts attention from) its:

Accepted Answer

Shaving and other forms of hair removal are often gendered practices that help maintain normative gender distinctions. Calling them 'hygiene' practices deflects attention from this aspect and implies a purely utilitarian purpose.

Question 20

The southern Pima people living in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Mexico have much lower rates of obesity, overweight, and diabetes than the northern Pima people (e.g., Tohono O'odham), due largely to all of the following factors EXCEPT for:(not including) that:

Accepted Answer

There is no evidence to suggest that southern Pima people have superior genetics that prevent fat accumulation. Instead, their lower rates of obesity, overweight, and diabetes are attributed to their traditional subsistence practices, physically rigorous lifestyle, and healthful diet. It is also noted that they do not eat the US federal government's replacement foods, which may contribute to their better health outcomes.

Quiz 12: Body Ideals and Outcomes