A biocultural study of the linkages between economic and social insecurity, diet quality, and obesity in urban Mexican adults

该项目旨在利用人类学、社会政策和营养学的跨学科方法，测试墨西哥城成年人的社会经济不安全感、饮食和肥胖之间的关联。不安全感被定义为无法获得或积累足够的资源来抵御未来的不利环境，在富裕的西方社会进行的一些研究中，这种不安全感与腹部肥胖有关。然而，到目前为止，还没有研究确定社会经济不安全、粮食不安全和肥胖症在中低收入国家的个人层面上是如何相互作用的。探讨这一联系的少数研究仅评估了粮食不安全或人口层面的不平等。该研究项目采用一种新的生物文化方法，将定性人类学研究方法与不安全感、饮食模式和人体测量学的定量测量相结合，将确定将薄弱的国家福利结构与肥胖联系起来的“福利假说”的可行性。在（后）COVID-19社会中，该研究将围绕危机情况下福利保护的影响产生关键见解，以及放大的不安全感与心理健康、饮食和体重之间的直接联系。

The proposed project aims to test the association between socio-economic insecurity, diet and obesity in adults in Mexico City using interdisciplinary approaches from anthropology, social policy, and nutrition. Insecurity, defined as the inability to access or accumulate sufficient resources to protect against adverse future circumstances, has been linked to greater abdominal obesity in a few studies conducted in affluent western societies. However, to date no study has identified how socio-economic insecurity, food insecurity and obesity interact at the individual level in Low-and-Middle income countries. The few studies that have explored this link have only assessed either food insecurity, or inequality but on a population level. Using a novel bio-cultural approach combining qualitative anthropological research methods and quantitative measures of insecurity, dietary patterns, and anthropometry, this research project will determine the plausibility of the 'welfare hypothesis', which links weak national welfare structures with obesity.In a (post) COVID-19 society, this study will generate key insights around the effects of welfare protections in crisis situations, and the direct links between magnified insecurity and mental wellbeing, diet, and body weight.