UM atUM [S01-ep03]: Representations of Obesity at the Baillarguet Insectarium

[Podcast] - Published on November 15, 2021 in Science and Society

In this episode: sociologist Sylvain Ferez and anthropologist Yann Beldame from the Santesih laboratory take a close look at the narratives of obese individuals who are candidates for 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, that percentage rises to 17% for adults. These figures have remained stable for the past decade or so, according toInserm, unlike the number of bariatric surgeries, which has continued to skyrocket 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 categories through which obesity is perceived in the medical community and in society more broadly?

Researchers from the SANTESIH laboratory in Montpellier set out to interview these candidates for the surgery. They present their findings in an article titled“Weight Loss Surgery and the Burden of the Surgery,”published in 2021 in the journal *Sciences sociales et santé*. 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 research lab, are with us in the Divergence-FM studio.

In the second half of the program, we’ll take you tothe CIRAD Baillarguetinsectarium. Whether it’s louseflies, ticks, or mosquitoes, Sophie Ravel from UMR Intertryp and Karine Huber from the Astre team will tell you everything there is to know about raising arthropods.

AtUM , you’ve got the schedule—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

Listen to the show “AUM science” on Divergence FM 93.9

Keywords: UM atUM, Medicine, Research, Health, Company