4 Quiz
some text here along the lines: ‘here’s an end-of-course quiz to reinforce your learning on the topics covered throughout the course’1. Lifestylism
a.
Most diseases are caused by the unhealthy behaviour of individuals, such that it is people’s lifestyles that affect their health and, indeed, their life expectancy.
b.
Most diseases are caused by biological entities of one kind of another, not because of anything that a person does, and could affect their life expectancy.
c.
Most diseases are caused by the healthy behaviour of individuals, and happen in spite of their lifestyle.
The correct answer is a.
2. Quantitative Research
a.
Quantitative research reflects the philosophical stance of ‘positivism’. Those who ascribe to this position believe a topic of research can be described, recorded and studied numerically in a scientific manner. In simple terms, they believe that it is possible to quantify and therefore measure, in a research context, most aspects of life.
b.
Quantitative research reflects the philosophical stance of ‘negativism’. Those who ascribe to this position believe a topic of research can be described, recorded and studied using words. In simple terms, they believe that it is possible to deal scientifically with the words that people speak in everyday terms.
c.
Quantitative research reflects the philosophical stance of ‘integrationism’. Those who ascribe to this position believe a topic of research can be described, recorded and studied numerically or using the words that people speak. In simple terms, they believe that it is possible to quantify and therefore measure the words that people speak, or use numbers to represent what people say.
The correct answer is a.
3. The body mass index
a.
Body mass index (BMI) is a widely used measure for working out if a person’s weight is ‘healthy’. BMI is calculated by dividing an adult’s weight in kilograms by their height in metres squared. As such, BMI can be used to calculate and compare weights of groups of people relative to their heights.
b.
Body mass index (BMI) is a widely used measure for working out if a person’s weight is ‘unhealthy’. BMI is calculated by multiplying an adult’s weight in kilograms by their waist size in metres cubed. As such, BMI can be used to calculate and compare weights of groups of people relative to their heights.
c.
Body mass index (BMI) is a widely used measure for working out if a person’s weight is ‘healthy’. BMI is calculated by adding an adult’s weight in kilograms to their height. As such, BMI can be used to calculate and compare weights of groups of people relative to their heights.
The correct answer is a.
4. Obesity
The Black Report on Inequalities in Health (Department of Health and Social Security, 1980) has been described as a seminal document in debates about health. This report judged material and structural factors (such as income, housing and employment) to be the main contributors to health inequalities. In her review of The Black Report, Professor Dame Margaret Whitehead (1987) concluded that material and structural factors severely limit a person’s choice of lifestyle. In other words, living and working conditions impose severe restrictions on an individual’s ability to choose a healthy lifestyle.
Read these two analyses, then indicate beneath which is true.
a.
(a) is true
b.
(b) is true
The correct answer is a.
5. Qualitative research
a.
Qualitative research tends to be associated with smaller-scale studies that involve fewer participants than quantitative studies, and it aims to provide a full and more holistic understanding of research participants’ views and actions. In qualitative research, words rather than numbers are the unit of analysis.
b.
Qualitative research tends to be associated with large-scale studies that involve many more participants than quantitative studies, and it aims to provide a narrow and limited of research participants’ views and actions. In qualitative research, numbers rather than words are the unit of analysis.
c.
Qualitative research tends to be associated with smaller-scale or larger studies that can involve any amount of people. It aims to provide a full understanding of research participants’ views and actions, but can also provide a narrow understanding. In qualitative research, words or numbers are the unit of analysis.
The correct answer is a.
6. Obesity statistics
Drag and drop the numbers to fill in the statistics below (drawn from the work of Baker, 2023).
Comment
Here are the statistics as sourced from Baker (2023):
- England: ‘In the 2021 survey, 25.9% of adults in England were obese and a further 37.9% were overweight, making a total of 63.8% who were either overweight or obese’ (p. 5).
- Scotland: ‘69% of men and 65% of women in Scotland were overweight or obese in 2021’ (p. 17).
- Wales: ‘In 2021/22, 26% of women and 23% of men reported being obese (BMI over 30). 67% of men were overweight or obese, compared with 58% of women’ (p. 18).
- Northern Ireland: ‘In 2019/20, 27% of adults in Northern Ireland were obese, with a further 38% overweight. 71% of men were overweight or obese, compared with 60% of women’ (p. 19).