How can anthropology make useful contributions to development or health?

Question

This question always a[pears in past papers for my exam and it stumps me all the time. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Answer 1

There are medical anthropologists who study how we think about health and healing.  What is in one's culture that contributes to disease and health.  You know like how American are by majority overweight and or obese.  We have a higher rate of heart disease.  The Pima Indians in Arizona have a huge diabetes rate it is like 60-80 percent, while the Pima Indians in Mexico less than a few hundred miles away have a much lower rate like less than 10 percent and the difference is diet and exercise and it is directly related to cultural adaptation and change...assimilation.  Anthropologist along with tribal leadership helped the Pima Indians develop projects to start eating their traditional natural food.  

In addition there are some diseases that are almost entirely cultural based and exist due to cultural beliefs....like anorexia....eating disorders don't exist in traditional non-western or westernized cultures.