Science at UM [S01-ep03]: Portrayals of Obesity at the Baillarguet Insectarium
In this episode: sociologist Sylvain Ferez and anthropologist Yann Beldame from the Santesih laboratory take a close look at the narratives of obese individuals seeking bariatric surgery. In the second half of the program, we head to CIRAD Baillarguet, where Sophie Ravel and Karine Huber give us a tour of the insectarium.
According to the World Health Organization, 39% of adults worldwide are overweight and 13% are obese. In France, this figure rises to 17% for adults. These figures have remained stable for the past decade, according toInserm, unlike the number of bariatric surgeries, which has skyrocketed over the past 20 years.
So why are these surgeries performed? How does one qualify for them? And, above all, what do they reveal about the normative frameworks through which obesity is perceived in the medical community and in society at large?
Researchers from the SANTESIH laboratory in Montpellier set out to interview these bariatric surgery candidates. They present their findings in an article titled“Weight Loss Surgery and the Burden of the Procedure,”published in 2021 in the journal *Social Sciences and Health*. The study was conducted in partnership with the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery at Montpellier University Hospital.
Yann Beldame, a researcher in social anthropology and ethnology, and Sylvain Ferez, a sociologist, associate professor at the University of Montpellier, and director of the SANTESIH laboratory, are with us in the Divergence-FM studio.
Read:
The article Operation Weight and Weight of the Operation
In the second half of the program, we’ll take you tothe CIRAD Baillarguetinsectarium. Whether it’s lice, ticks, or mosquitoes, Sophie Ravel from the Intertryp research unit and Karine Huber from the Astre team will tell you everything there is to know about raising arthropods.
At UM Science, you’ve got the program—let’s get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting and editing: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Director: Bruno Bertrand
Tune in to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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