The weight of rumor

Bibliographic Data

ID2260263
AuthorsEmma Nelson Bunkley (0000-0001-8856-0034, Health and Behavioral Sciences University of Colorado Denver Denver Colorado USA, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume127
Issue2
Pages244-254
Publication date2025-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Anthropologist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7294 • E-ISSN: 1548-1433
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/aman.28053
OpenAlexW4408320214
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited50

In Senegal, Type II diabetes often causes rapid weight loss. Weight loss is usually the reason women will finally seek out a biomedical diagnosis for their ailment. Loss of weight has many negative connotations for Senegalese women-HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, financial troubles, or an unhappy marriage. When women lose weight, they become the subject of rumors and gossip in their communities. This leads to isolation. Research has shown that isolation has deleterious mental health effects, especially in places as communal as Senegal. Worsening mental health can also exacerbate diabetes. This article explores Senegalese women's experiences with weight loss due to Type II diabetes and the effects their weight loss, in addition to their diabetes, has on their lived experience and their social networks

Political science · Rumor · Diabetes Management and Education · History · HIV/AIDS Impact and Responses · Law · Obesity and Health Practices

Tools

Open DOI