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Health in Oaxaca

Page history last edited by Ashley Hill 11 years, 11 months ago


 

 

Introduction

I am studying health in Oaxaca.  I am curious about the health issues that are present here, and what people are doing about these issues.  One of the biggest issues I have learned is obesity and the development of diabetes.  I want to know how people are fighting these issues using exercise.  I am focusing on one specific aerobics exercise--Zumba.  Zumba has become a popular work out not only in the U.S. but here in Mexico as well.  From Zumba studios springing up in every Colonia to public Zumba in el parque de llano every Sunday, the instructors are making Zumba accessible for everyone.  I want to know if people are taking advantage of this for health. 

 

Background Information

 

Research 

The first step for my project was to find some background information on general health in Mexico.  I found studies done by two organizations that provided me general information.  One study conducted by the WHO informed me not only of the decrease of communicable diseases but also about the rise of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease.  Health problems like this have also been linked to obesity.  The second study was conducted on children to track the trend of obesity and overweight because there has been connections between childhood obesity and obesity as an adult.  This was important for my project because many of the programs I have learned about target teaching children about healthy activities.  I also gathered background information on Zumba and aerobics excercise since it would be the focus of my project.

  

 According to a publication by the World Health Organization (WHO) made in 2006, there has been an increase in non-communicable diseases.  These include hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, which is when there is an excess of cholesterol in the blood stream.  The publication also notes that diabetes has become the leading cause of death in women and the second for men.  This is important because these can be caused by leading an unhealthy lifestyle.  They also have a section about the increase of risky behaviors, and what is interesting is that it begins with discussing the increase of being overweight or obese.  It goes on to say that it affects all groups of society, though mainly in urban areas.  They mention specifically that it affects 51.8% of women between the ages of 12 and 49, and 5.5% of children under 5 (WHO, 2006). 

 

A study was published in 2009 by Salud Pública de Mexico on overweight and obesity trends in children.  The study was done on children ages 2 to 18 and from 1988 to 2006.  They wanted to track the trend of overweight and obesity in children because children who are overweight or obese are twice as likely to be overweight or obese as adults.  They looked at children in different socioeconomic statuses (SES), along with children from different areas and in different age groups.  These age groups were pre-school age, school age, and adolescents.  At the end of their study they found that there was an upward trend of overweight and obesity in school aged and adolescents not only at the national level but also in all of the subpopulations of their study.  They also wanted to track the trend because “being overweight or obese as a child or in adulthood increases the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2), dyslipidemia and impaired glucose tolerance, among others,” (Bonvecchio et al, 2009). 

  

Since I would be focusing my project through the physical exercise of Zumba, I needed to find out more information about it.  In U.S. and other places around the world Zumba has become incresingly popular.  So popular in fact that the founder had to create a school to train new Zumba instructors only a few short years after Zumba sprang up (fitday.com).  Now there are classes all over the U.S. that you can participate in.  There are even popular video games such as Zumba Party for the Wii if you prefer to work out at home that includes level building as you gain a great work out.  Our first weekend in Oaxaca we learned that there was a Zumba class in the public park--el llano-- every Sunday morning.  Many of us participated in this many a Sunday.  Since Zumba seemed to be such a popular workout I decided to focus my project through that, but I wanted to know what Zumba was doing, why is it such a good exercise?

 

Zumba is a mix of different Latin music such as salsa, merengue, and many more. It is also mixed with many different styles of dance steps such as cubana, reggaeton, salsa and more. Alberto “Beto” Perez created it in the late 80’s early 90’s. Zumba is an aerobic exercise. An aerobic exercise is an activity that increases the bodies need for oxygen and requires the body’s systems to work above the level of rest. This type of exercise is useful for building endurance.According to fitday.com, who reviewed Zumba and its benefits, Zumba is great for getting to your target heart rate easier than other workout routines. They say ““It does this by using songs that play around 145 beats per minute. This fast pace makes it feel natural to move around quickly,” (fitday.com). The website goes on to talk about how Zumba is a great way to build endurance and is helpful in maintaining a healthy cardiovascular respiratory system. It also talks about how Zumba burns more calories per minute than fat per minute, but it says that a slower paced routine is better for losing weight (fitday.com).

 

Discussion of Materials Recieved from Zumba Instructor

After talking with Juan, the Zumba instructor from Sunday morning Zumba, he gave me some materials to read about the government programs that in place to help promote health.  This program is part of the Vivir Mejor (Live Better) program that involves many other aspects of healthy living than just health and exercise.  For this instance, however, that is what my focus is.  Much of what he told me and from what I have read in the materials the program involves educating people and providing them with access to physical activities.  Zumba on Sunday mornings in the park is part of this bigger project.  Juan and the other members have traveled around the state of Oaxaca and have taught people about health, along with leading physical activities.  Many of the activities that they lead are in municipality centers which allows people to come and participate.  In doing this people are learning about the benefits of being physical while learning ways to apply it to their lives, and it provides them with a way to do so.

 

They are also doing work to teach school children about health through fun activities.  They have gone to many schools and led the students in fun activities like Zumba or other types of exercises.  Later in the school day, children stay active by playing games that involve physicality so they can practice cordination and flexibility.  Both of those are important to health.  The program also leads groups of workers to help them maintain cordination and flexibility.  They have orginized events that allow workers from offices and other places to particpate and learn the benefits of staying physical.  They even promote simply doing 15 minutes of activity while in the office to keep those abilities up.

 

From the way the materials I recieved are layed out, I can tell that a big part of their program is education and accesability.  They are educating people about the health issues and risks and teaching them ways to lead healthy lifestyles to avoid these things.  They are then offering activities for people to participate in by travaling around the state and holding events. 

 

Interviews

 

Interview with Vicky 

I have also talked with a few people about health and Zumba.  One of the first people that I spoke with was my host mother, Vicky.  During comida one afternoon we began talking about Zumba because she had started taking Zumba classes in the mornings.  I asked her if she would mind sitting down for a longer conversation with me about health in Oaxaca and Zumba.  I started by asking her why she practiced Zumba.  She told me that it is a great form of exercise and that it makes it fun.  She said that she likes Zumba because it is an hour of non-stop activity with fast paced music.  She also said later on that before Zumba there was aerobics classes but they weren’t as fun because they could be slower and the music wasn’t as good.  I also asked her why she thought that other people practiced Zumba.  She responded that it was for health.  She proceeded to tell me about the health issues in Oaxaca,--obesity and diabetes.  She talked about how there is a problem with leading unhealthy lifestyles and this leads to those problems and more, such as problems with the heart.  Vicky also talked about how children in Oaxaca don’t get enough healthy things to eat or activities to participate in, but that that recently changed, especially in school.

 

 

Interview with Zumba Instructor Juan

Recently, I talked to the man who usually leads Zumba in El llano on Sunday mornings, I asked him about health in Oaxaca and why he leads Zumba every week.  I discovered  that the government has implemented a program to help people get healthy.  He told me that there is a large problem with obesity in Mexico and that the states are doing things to help people be active.  For Oaxaca, they offer different activities around the state, in different municipalities, so that people can get active.  For example they might go to a town center and offer Zumba or some other physical activity.  He also told me about what they are doing for children.  Schools are now incorporating more physical activity for students during the day.  These are in the form of games and an hour of exercise in the morning.  He talked a lot about by just having 15 minutes of play time, or of some sort of physical activity, is better for everyone.  After our conversation he also gave me information about the government program and what they are doing to promote health around the state.  This includes information about what they do and where they have gone, and it includes pictures.

 

Interview with Women of Zumba

My project included attending Zumba classes.  I went to Zumba in El llano many times as well as locating a Zumba studio.  I began talking to the women that participated in Zumba at these locations.  In approaching them I told them that I was interested in why people were practicing Zumba, or I would ask them if there were benefits of doing Zumba.  I was surprised when many of the women answered that people, including themselves, participated in Zumba because of the health benefits.  One women told me specifically that it was good for the cardio-respitory system.  Other women told me that it is good for health in general.  Another women I spoke to said that not only was it good for health but it was also an economical way get or keep moving.  In attending Zumba classes I found this to be true.  In El llano it was only 15 pesos, and at the studio it was 12 pesos for one class or 50 pesos for the week.  Recently, I have noticed that Zumba in El llano has been free.  I believe this to be because it is encouragment to partcipate.  Every women that I talked to also said that it was a fun way to exercise, and one women told me that Latina women like to dance and Zumba is based in dance to they enjoy it for that reason too. 

 

 

 

 

 

My Participation in Zumba

 

Reflection and Discovery

In attending Zumba classes I was able to make many observations about Zumba and the women ( and occasional men) that participated.  When I went to Zumba at the studio, which is located in the shopping plaza near Conssatti park, I noticed that there were only women, mostly older women in their 40's, though there were some younger women as well and this is true for a few of the other times I went as well.  Usually I attended class in the mornings, but I did attend a night class on one occation.  During this occasion I noted that there were far more people there, I attribute this to people being free from work or other daytime commitments and are able to go to class at night.  I also saw many more young people and men, including a young boy who looked to be about 12.  In this class I also noticed that there seemed to be a family participating.  It appeared that the mother brought her young daughters to participate as well.  This is important because from this observation I can infer that she is teaching her children about being healthy.

 

 

Most of the Instructors at the studio ended their Zumba class with some sort of  exercise.  When there were a lot of people in the class we would do exercises that worked core muscles while standing and stretching or doing crunches by pulling your stomach tight and bending like you were doing a normal crunch.  They would also make sure to included stretches and cool downs.  When there were not so many people in the class they would tell us to get matts for the floor.  After everyone had a matt we would do the basic crunches and push-ups.  There was one instructor that also included leg lifts and extensions as part of these workouts.

 

In Zumba in El llano I observed many women participating, though here there were a few regular men as well.  Many of the women here were older as well, but there were also many younger women that would be partcipating.  In participating here I would notice that some people would come at the begining and leave after about half of the class and others would come roughly halfway through and stay until the end.  Still others would stay the whole time.  There was always a large number of people participating.  In fact, I observed paserbys who would stop and participate for a while.  The instructor, Juan, would also include exercises in with the dances as they would for the classes at the studio.  The past few weeks, there have been other people assisting with instructing Zumba in El llano.  One week they had a stage set up instead of the usual platform.  Along with this they had a pigger sound system, they had more instructors, and even handed out water during the activity.  I learned that it was a special occasion to help promote exercise and health.  Also, just last week they celebrated their four year aniversery for Zumba in El llano.

 

 

Overall I learned a lot about Zumba and the people that participate.  I discovered that people really do understand the health issues and the risks that those involve.  They are taking steps with in their own lives to better their health and prevent health problems.  I also learned that the government is taking steps to ensure the health of the people.  They are offering activities, such as Zumba, for people in almost every municipality.  I have also learned that people enjoy exercise and healthy activities that are fun and exciting, and this is another reason I attribute the popularity of Zumba too.

 

Self Assesment

I have learned a lot through the process of studying Zumba and health in Oaxaca.  I learned about the importance of informing people about health risks and about the importance of staying informed, as many of the people I spoke to were, as well as actual participation.  For me this is important.  As my self assesment I am offering that I participated in Zumba to learn what it really was.  Instead of sitting in on classes or simply observing participation in the park I participated along side the people I wanted to talk to.  This allowed me to experience what they were and understand on a personal level what taking strides to lead a healthy life is like.  On a personal level, I have never been fit and I know that I am at risk for many things in the future if I did not learn how to lead a healthy lifestyle.  In participating in Zumba I have begun taking steps to lead that healthy lifstyle.  I hope to continue participating in physical exercise upon the completion of this project and continue to make strides towards a healthy life.

 

 

Research Plan

Jan. 31st: Decide what my I would be doing my project on

 

Feb. 13th: Interview with Host Mom about Zumba and health in Oaxaca

 

Feb. 15th: Gather background information

 

Mar. 18th: Talk to Zumba instructors from Zumba in the Llano

 

Apr. 2nd: Finish reading information Provided by Zumba instructor & use it to update wiki

 

Apr. 3rd: Add flare to Wiki

 

Jan. 31st – Apr. 8th: Talk to women who participate in Zumba

                             Attend Zumba classes in the Llano and at the “Zumba” studio

                              Make observations at said classes

                              Photographs of Zumba classes

:

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

"The Aerobic and Anaerobic Benefits of Zumba." / Fitness / Cardio. Web. 24 Feb. 2012. http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/cardio/the-aerobic-and-anaerobic-benefits-of-zumba.html.

 

"The Benefits of Exercise." Welcome to Georgia State University. Web. 22 Feb. 2012. http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwfit/benefits.html.

 

Bonvecchio, Anabelle, Margarita Safdie, Eric A. Monterrubio, Tiffany Gust, Salvador Villalpando, and Juan A. Rivera. "Overweight and Obesity Trends in Mexican Children 2 to 18 Years of Age from 1988 to 2006." Salud Pública De México. 2009. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. http://bvs.insp.mx/rsp/articulos/articulo.php?id=002407.

 

World Health Organization (WHO). "Country Cooperation Strategy: At a Glance." Academic Search Premier. EBSCO, Apr. 2006. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. http://www.who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_mex_en.pdf.

 

"Zumba Fitness." Learn about. Web. 16 Feb. 2012. <http://www.zumba.com/en-US/about/>.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments (7)

Mary Lucia said

at 9:18 am on Jan 27, 2012

Hi Ashely - I know since you have written this we talked more about dance and then health - and your own interests in leading a healthy life style. And then I talked with you about looking at the public health issues in oaxaca which i believe are diabetes and obesity - you could check this out. And to follow-up with that by asking what is the response to this health issue? what is happening in Oaxaca? And then to add your personal narrative. Lets keep talking about this...

aerindunford said

at 11:17 pm on Jan 29, 2012

What's up Ashley? Happy to keep talking to you about this to help you narrow it down. Yeyo has a number of friends who are filmmakers and others who organize film festivals and other events associated with video and cinematography here in Oaxaca. I don't know that this would be of use if you're really more interested in going down the route of learning about how the U.S. film industry influences the culture here. Many of the films that they show here are actually dubbed. Some are shown with subtitles or dubbed in the same theater. There's not much in the way of films actually made by Oaxacans, but there have been many documentaries made by folks right here in the city.

I also think that doing an independent project on some kind of physical activity could also be very cool. I am really into the idea of learning through the body lately ... or the importance of bringing embodiment in more and more in everything I do. Happy to support you in discovering whatever subject speaks to you most.

-Aerin

ahandy@uvm.edu said

at 11:24 pm on Mar 26, 2012

Ashley, I think that this is a really well put together project and it looks like you are doing a lot of work with it! I'm impressed to see how much literature you have read/are reading. When continuing with your interviews, it will be really interesting to see how much people know about the health risks going on in Oaxaca and if that is why they are participating in Zumba. I personally think that it would be super interesting to try and get as much out of the interviewee in regards to their knowledge of health risks as possible. I feel like the people of Oaxaca are not informed about many things like this, and it would be cool to learn maybe why this particular issue is important to them. You know? Anyway, I really am impressed! Great work and I'm interested to see what the women of Zumba say!

luna colt said

at 11:39 pm on Apr 8, 2012

Ashley this is a beautiful looking layout, very well organized, and your interviews were very interesting! proud on you girl.

Natalie said

at 12:32 am on Apr 9, 2012

Hi Ashley! Adding to what Ariel said about getting more information about what Zumba participants know about health risks, it could be interesting to talk to non-zumba participants, and see their thoughts on this exercise in particular (do they see its benefits? Are they aware of general health risks?). You have great stats from WHO. Is your statement up? It's such a great project idea that has personal significance, is fun, and simply interesting for you/me! I still think a small routine for your project would be really fun! Can't wait for hiphop this fall!

Michael.Witham-Jr@uvm.edu said

at 3:28 pm on Apr 10, 2012

Hi Ashley, I noticed that your wiki is very formatic and structured nicely. Very easy to read, nice job. I noticed that you mentioned diabetes is the leading cause of death for women and second for men. I would double-check this information as I believe the leading cause of death has been heart disease for quite some time now, due to a lack of oxygen to the heart (ischaemia). However, diabetes can definitely contribute to this condition. In your sixth paragraph you have some very good and interesting information about the origins and details of Zumba, however I noticed that the wording was a bit choppy in some places. I also enjoyed the interviews you had with people, especially the instructor. I'm glad you could get so involved with this. The WHO is a great resource for information, as I'm sure you already know, also very reliable. I also really like how you have gained so much awareness of health in general, and what are some ways to live a healthy life style. Keep up the good work, Ashley. I have faith in you!

jlaub@... said

at 4:13 pm on Apr 10, 2012

Ashley! this is amazing! Had know idea how big the Vivir Mejor government project actually was until reading your project! There are little suggestions that I can make except, add more beautiful pictures! Also I really like the part about how not only women, but their families are getting involved. did you get to talk to any of the families? Also would love to see what other people think about Zumba, because although I don't participate in it enough, I love it, its such a great time!

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