For my final project, I decided to choose Epidemiological theory. Epidemiology is the study of distribution and determinants of diseases and injuries in human population (Marcia C.I., 1995). From the first week introducing theory 1: Epidemiological theory lecture, the biggest question in this type of theory is “how do we get rid of this problem?”. Thus, question like “Where did this disease start?”, “how can humans intervene in the outbreak of this disease, especially at the population level?” and “What are the statistical facts about this disease that help us to understand how to prevent or cure it better?” might be questioning. Furthermore, this type of theory mainly focuses on population instead of individual cases. Therefore, pattern and statistic are important. By using the epidemiological theory, it can help us understand where an outbreak started, how it’s transmitted, the duration of the disease, and mortality rates. Moreover, it also helps give us the statistics we need to know if we’re making progress against this disease or not (Introducing theory 1: Epidemiological theory).

To related to my health issue, which is diabetes in Malaysia, I think this theory is the best to apply on it. This is because, from my finding, the risk factor of having diabetes can be trace down to eating habit and physical activity. People consume food all the times and they have the right to choose what type of food they want to eat. As we know, food choice can affect our health. Some might choose a very healthy diet, and some do not. Another thing that we might consider when it comes to food choice is culture. We able to experience a lot of flavor and taste through different culture. In fact, when it comes to introducing a culture, people usually start and more interested in food culture. 

Malaysia is a multi-cultural country where there are many ethics which mainly Malay, Chinese and Indian. Every culture has their own way of life and belief. Thus, they have their own traditional food that they usually consume. When we look at the statistic of diabetes in Malaysia, the highest prevalence is among the Indian followed by Malay and Chinese (Tee & Yap, 2017). With this, I want to see on how the food culture effect the risk of having diabetes among these three ethics. Mainly, I want to discover how consume or follow a certain diet can increase or decrease the risk of having diabetes. Plus, what types of food that we consume can lead us of having diabetes. Besides that, how we can actually prevent it?. Other than that, there are many efforts that government in Malaysia makes to reduce the risk of having diabetes. Thus, how far the effort goes? Does it work?

Reference:

Introducing theory 1: Epidemiological theory. Week 1 lecture

Marcia C.I. (1995). Medical Anthropology and Epidemiology: Divergences or Convergences. Soc. Sci. Med., 40(3), 285-290.

Tee, E., & Yap, R. (2017). Type 2 diabetes mellitus in Malaysia: current trends and risk factors. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 71(7), 844-849.