Home 
Contact 
Profile 
Videos 
Material by Professor Omar Hasan Kasule Sr. for Year 1 Semester 1 Biomed PPSD on 10th August 2008
Background
Dyg Indah is sad at school because she has few friends. She consults her elder sister who is very popular among students about her problem. The sister advises her that it all has to do with her appearance. If she worked hard on her body shape she would become attractive and many boys and girls would be interested in interacting with her. While sleeping she dreamed seeing herself as a thin well-shaped girl and someone was telling her to drink only milk and a biscuit at each meal for 3 months in order to stay in that shape.
When she woke up she discussed the issue with her mother who advised her strongly against dieting. She told her that a woman needs some fat on her body to be plump and beautiful and that she should eat a lot of food especially since she was growing up. Her uncle who is a religious teacher overheard the conversation and intervened saying that the prophet gave very specific guidelines on eating; one third of the stomach should be filled with food, one third with water, and one third left empty. He said that overeating was the major problem of youths these days, a cause or disease, and a manifestation of general social corruption.
Confused and bewildered Dyg Indah decided to visit a bomoh in her grandmother’s kampong without the knowledge of her father and mother who strictly disapprove of consulting bomohs. The bomoh told her that getting a well-shaped body had nothing to do with food. She could eat as much as she liked but needed to wear an amulet around her waist which will shape the body in 3 months. Dyg Indah paid the bomoh BND10. On return to her parents’ home she watched a television program produced by the Health Promotion Unit of the Ministry of Health. The program talked about the importance of a balanced diet, the problems of obesity, and eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia. Immediately after the program a movie targeted at youths was featured and it had many commercials on diet products touted to produce beautiful bodies and shapes.
Dyg Indah was getting confused about all the information she was getting. She decided to read books from the school library about dieting. She also looked up information on the internet. One day while in the internet café her cousin asked her what she was looking for. She told her to forget everything and read only teenage magazines because they had the only relevant information on health, diet, and beauty. She brought her back copies of 2 magazines and paid a 2 - year subscription for one of them. She told her to rely on the magazines and never listen to doctors and dietitians because they did not understand what youths needed.
Discussion questions:
- Discuss the validity and reliability of each source of dietary information
- List sources of information that you would use if you are a physician dealing with a teenager with dietary problems
- How can you clarify patients’ beliefs that contradict empirical information].