Guanajuato, Gto., October 22, 2015.- Dr. Abril Saldaña Tejeda, professor at the Social Sciences and Human Studies Division (DCSyH for its acronym in Spanish) from Campus Leon, develops a research project on human genomics from Sociology's point of view, in which she analyzes illnesses like diabetes and obesity in a multidisciplinary perspective.

Dr. Abril Saldaña sustained that "the objective for this research is to understand the medical genomics and possible re-significations of notions such as race, gender, class and nation, all this through the specific cases of obesity and diabetes in Mexico".

In accordance the National Public Health Institute, more than 70% of adults in Mexico suffer from overweight and obesity. The data is alarming in case of child and teenager obesity.

Diabetes, obesity, are complex illnesses that must be understood and analyzed from the medical genomics point of view, without losing sight of the social factors that mold the eating and health habits says the DCSyH professor.

In addition, she highlights that it is important to identify the social implications from the studies that define the "Mexican" from biological categorizations, and on the other side, establish a link between populations and specific pathologies. General population can interpret this link in many ways and feed, in some people, the stigmas of certain groups and bodies.

She explained that initiatives like Hap Map (The international Hap Map Consortium 2005), have the objective to provide information on the genes that affect health and establish the genomic bases of common diseases in certain populations. In the case of Mexico, identifying the genomic variations that could explain the high indexes of illnesses such as diabetes and obesity is of great importance.

Dr. Abril Saldaña recognizes the importance of medical genomics to understand diseases and to develop individualized diagnosis and treatments, however she remarks that is necessary to identify and problematize the scientific speeches and practices, from notions and procedures in which the subjects of study are identified, established and categorized; in this case, the Mexican genome.

"We live and form a defined academy by the over-specialization of the scientific know-how and it is fundamental to begin forming the interdisciplinary bases that allow us to understand social problems in all its complexity and different perspectives", she concluded.