Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
شیخ بهایی جنوبی. ایرانشاسی. شهرک والفجر
2
Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Central Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University; Tehran, Iran
3
Azad University of Tehran Center
4
Assistant Professo Faculty of Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University of Central Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran
10.22059/ijar.2025.376218.459871
Abstract
Objective: The issue of health and maintaining it is one of the most basic and obvious needs of human societies. The findings of medical knowledge indicate that public health is directly related to the nutritional system, which is a cultural issue. The population studied in this research has a very high cancer risk compared to the international standard level.Studying the nutritional system in the studied society from a cultural perspective and knowing the cultural views and beliefs that have been involved in the formation of the nutritional system in this society is a way to discover the causes that are one of the main causes of malignant gastrointestinal diseases in the studied society.Considering that the knowledge of anthropology in our country is less in the field of medical anthropology and with the problematic approach of this knowledge, in this article, it is possible to achieve patterns in interdisciplinary interaction that will ultimately lead to the study and improvement of the level of public health. The main purpose of this article was to identify the cultural factors of the nutrition system in the studied community and its role in the high prevalence of gastrointestinal cancer among Turkmen.
Research method: The research method in this article is qualitative and was formed with an ethnographic approach. The most technique in this study was the semi-structured interview technique. In addition, part of the data collection was done through documentary studies and observation. The method of data analysis and interpretation was chosen based on Levi-Strauss' theory of structuralism, especially his food triangle, as well as Clifford Geertz's interpretative semiotics.
Findings: The findings of the article indicate that some factors play a role in the incidence of cancer in the studied community. In many cases, Turkmens use dangerous food patterns that increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancer, including unhealthy and inappropriate cooking methods in their traditional diet. In this article, the nutrition system was discussed from the three perspectives of raw materials, cooking methods, and the symbolic role of beliefs in shaping the nutrition system and cooking methods in the studied society.The primary ingredients in the food basket of the studied society are cereals, especially wheat and its products, which are mostly consumed in the form of bread, red meat and rice. The way of cooking traditional foods is mostly based on frying with hot oil, which is one of the unhealthy ways of cooking, and in the food triangle of Strauss, the largest share is devoted to incomplete fermentation cooking. In cooking, half-baked food is mostly done by tandoori or grilling method, which results in incomplete cooking of food.
Conclusion: The results indicate that the nutritional system in the studied community tends to increase the risk of gastrointestinal diseases, including cancer. Excessive consumption of some foods such as grains and red meat and improper cooking methods and not using some useful and effective foods in prevention such as vegetables and fruits are among the factors that increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancer in this region. Also, the system of beliefs and convictions rooted in the cultural structure of the Turkmen people fuels this style of nutrition. These three were found to be effective in forming a type of nutrition that increases the susceptibility to cancer. Raw materials and cooking method directly and the belief system facilitating the use of food are among the factors that increase the risk of gastrointestinal cancer in the cultural system of the studied society.
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