Reflections on the Human Condition - Api-fellowships.org

collected using a questionnaire, interview and focus
groups methods, where the researcher conducted a field
survey among selected groups of respondents in different
communities.
Inclusion Criteria:
1. Adults age 18 years
2. Literate
3. Body Mass Index above 25
4. Non pregnant (for females)
5. Mobile and able to stand and walk
6. Consent to participate
Exclusion Criteria
1. Age under 18 years
2. Illiterate
3. Body Mass Index 25 and below
4. Pregnant (for females)
5. Immobile, bedridden or handicap
6. Refuse to give consent
The questionnaire focuses on eating habits, body image,
quality of life (ORWELL 97) and socio-demography.
The focus group discussion touched on globalization
of food consumption, lifestyles and socio-cultural
perception of obesity.
Anthropometric measurements were also taken on
respondents, namely, weight, height, body mass index,
waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist to hip rat
Population
In order to fulfill the above objectives, the research was
conducted in five different geographical locations in
Southeast Asia. The population sample will consist of
literate adults age 18 years or older. The respondents
for questionnaire survey in the urban areas came mainly
from the middle class (administrative and professional
groups), while in the rural areas the majority is low income
earners in Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia. Selection
of respondents employed a purposive sample selection
which people who are overweight or obese and met the
inclusion criteria above. The sample size for each group
is about 50. The sampling distribution was as follows:
Thailand Urban (Bangkok) 51
Rural (Pattani) 96
Rural (Satun) 50
Philippines Urban (Manila) 53
Indonesia Urban (Jogjakarta) 65
Rural (Manado) 55
TOTAL 370
CHANGING LIFESTYLES AND HEALTH
167
Apart from the questionnaire survey, focus group discussion
was also conducted among selected groups in
all the study areas.
Schedule of activities during the study period:
Indonesia: 12 Sept. - 27 Oct. 2004 Jokjakarta (Gad
jahmada University),
28 October - 27 November 2004 Manado
(Sam Ratulangi University)
Japan: 1 December - 31 December 2004
(University of Tokyo and Waseda
University, Tokorozawa)
Philippines: 5 January- 4 February 2005 (University
of Philippines)
Thailand: 10 Feb. - 10 April 2005 (Chulalongkorn
& Mahidol University)
11 April - 21 June 2005 (Prince of
Songkla University, Pattani)
Focus group discussions (FGDs) were carried out in the
following place
Yogyakarta:
1) Yogyakarta High School
2) Kartika Dewi Health and Fitness Center
3) Gadjah Mada University Graduate Student
Manado:
1) Bahu village housewives
Metro Manila
1) Office workers at the Presidential Commission for
Urban Renewal, Quezon City.
Bangkok:
1) Chulalongkorn University Graduate Students and
Staff
Satun:
1) Fishermen of Temelang Island, Satun
Pattani:
1) Graduates students and unemployed graduates,
Prince of Songkla University
Limitation of the Study
1. The selection of samples may not represent a representative
sample of the population or obese population
in the study area due to its small sample size. Thus the
Ref lections on the Human Condition: Change, Conflict and Modernity
The Work of the 2004/2005 API Fellows