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Abstract: Introduction: The number of obese people in the world is increasing, as is the number of sarcopenic people among the older adults. Although both states are concerning, they can be positively influenced by selected behavioral factors such as adequate nutrition and physical activity. We were interested in the prevalence of sarcopenic obesity in active older people and the influence of behavioral factors on this phenomenon. Methods: The study included 38 older adults (21 women) with a mean age of 75.3 ± 5.0 years. Sarcopenic parameters were determined with different tests: Handgrip Test, Chair Stand Test, Gait Speed, Timed Up and Go Test, and Short Physical Performance Battery. Body composition was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Physical activity level was measured using accelerometers, and nutritional status was assessed using the Mini-Nutritional Assessment and MEDLIFE Index questionnaire. Results: Of all included active participants (the average number of steps per day was 8,916 ± 3,543), 47.4% of them were obese. Of all included women, 52.4% were obese. Sarcopenic obesity was found in three (7.9%) participants. Nutritional status correlated with strength of lower extremities and physical performance tests (gait speed, Timed Up and Go Test and Short Physical performance battery). Higher number of steps per day positively correlates with physical performance. Discussion: Interestingly, we did not find any correlation between the main obesity parameter such as percent body fat or body mass index (and thus sarcopenic obesity) and any of the selected behavioral factors (physical activity, sedentary behavior, or dietary habits). In conclusion, reaching the recommended levels of physical activity in older adults may not be sufficient to prevent the occurrence of obesity and sarcopenic obesity.
Keywords: aging, physical activity, nutrition, healthy lifestyle, body composition, sarcopenia
Published in DiRROS: 02.03.2023; Views: 457; Downloads: 277
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Abstract: This paper aimed to present a novel approach to the comparative philosophy of religion which I call traditions-oriented. It is related to and yet distinct from both comparative philosophy and confessional (tradition-oriented) comparative theology. This paper begins with a reflection on the meaning and employment of ‘comparison’ in the context of philosophical analysis. What follows is an analysis of the nature of the comparative practice conducted under the umbrella concept of the comparative philosophy of religion. After sketching out the developmental trajectory of research through which a traditions-oriented, non-neutral, compa-rative philosophy of religion can emerge, the articulation and implementation of a global monotheistic philosophy of religion is suggested. Two case-studies from the area of Muslim-Christian comparative reflection are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach developed in this paper.
Keywords: religion, philosophy, theology, tradition
Published in DiRROS: 01.03.2023; Views: 457; Downloads: 178
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Abstract: Over the last decade, there has been an increasing awareness that colonialism continues through various overlapping iterations of coloniality, such as politics, economics, security and academia. Academics from global north countries and global south countries have highlighted and called for the dismantling of coloni-ality in its various iterations. Perhaps the most vocal decolonising calls have come from global north academics wanting to decolonise global north academia in the form of epistemic decolonisation. As such, in this article, I call on global north academics researching 'on and in' global south countries to employ decolonial me-thodologies to avoid inadvertently reinforcing coloniality. By utilising autoethnography and critical decolonial reflexivity, I offer ways for global north academics researching on or in global south countries to guard against reinforcing coloniality during their research.
Keywords: decolonisation, coloniality, methodology, research, southeast Asia
Published in DiRROS: 28.02.2023; Views: 423; Downloads: 197
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Abstract: Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia that was once Suvarnabhumi land with a long history of 2600 years in parallel with the history of Buddhism here. Buddhi-sm, the major religion in Thailand, was originally propagated by two Indian Budd-hist monks named Sona and Uttara. Consequently, Buddhism has contributed to the Thai people for a long time. Obviously, in the first quarter of the 21st century, the situation of the elderly population around the world has been monitored and planned. Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia that has had an Ageing Society for more than 10 years. About 93.5% of the Thai population believe in Buddhism. According to Buddhism, elderly people are valuable because of their experience and contribution, and Buddhism always teaches gratitude. Therefore, to meet the challenge of an ageing society, appropriate age-related caregiving must be subject to accountability. In the Pāli Canon of Buddhism, there are many stories and tea-chings about the role and significance of elderly people along with caregiving, such as parents’ caregiving. The Buddha’s teachings have aimed to help provide human beings with physical, moral, emotional and wisdom development for the sake of their well-being. To follow the Buddha’s compassion, Buddhism in Thailand has been interpreted and applied to the well-being of ageing people.
Keywords: religion, Buddhism, ageing society, Suvarnabhumi, Thailand
Published in DiRROS: 28.02.2023; Views: 348; Downloads: 149
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Abstract: As one of the prominent Mahayana Buddhist institutions from Taiwan, Fo guang Shan (FgS) entered the religious market of Thailand as early as the 1990s. Its influence has grown tremendously among the local Chinese communities and Thai society. Despite this, there is a dearth of scholarship dedicated to FgS’s mar-ket expansion in Theravada-dominated Thailand. Through a SWOT analysis, this paper explores FgS’s marketing strategy for the Thai religious market. The findings suggest that FgS bears certain strengths, such as its appealing humanistic Budd-hist doctrine, gift-giving networking skills and its strong emotional bonds with the Chinese communities in Thailand. These strengths have brought and will conti-nuously provide FgS with opportunities for further expansion. However, FgS’s weakness is always there and obvious, given its foreign and non-mainstream na-ture and questionable legitimacy of existing as a Buddhist institution (or temple) in Thailand. All this has already caused threats to FgS’s missionary clergies and sanctuaries, mainly based in the Bangkok area, not to mention the growingly fierce competition from its Thai Theravada and local-born Mahayana counterparts.
Keywords: religion, Thai religion, religious market, marketing strategy, SWOT analysis, Thailand
Published in DiRROS: 28.02.2023; Views: 407; Downloads: 246
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