The Real War on Obesity: Contesting Knowledge and Meaning in a Public Health Crisis

by John Boswell

Overview

This book sheds new light on the political battle to define and construct obesity as a policy issue. Through a rich analysis of the debates in Australia and the UK, it develops a nuanced analysis of the competing narratives that actors rely on to make sense of and argue about this issue, and documents how and to what effect they draw on scientific evidence to support their accounts. The real 'war on obesity', it demonstrates, has always been over the meaning and nature of this public health crisis. This insightful work will interest scholars of interpretive policy studies, critical public health and science and technology studies.  



                      

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781137582522
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	07/27/2016
Series:	Palgrave Studies in Science, Knowledge and Policy
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	498 KB

About the Author

John Boswell is Lecturer in Politics at the University of Southampton, UK. He conducts research on democratic governance, health policy and interpretive research methodology.    


                          

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introducing the real ‘war on obesity’.- Part I. Problem definition.- Chapter 2. Debating individual agency.- Chapter 3. Defining the scope.- Chapter 4. Disputing the problem.- Part II. Policy engagement.- Chapter 5. Representing knowledge.- Chapter 6. Claiming knowledge.- Chapter 7. Contesting knowledge.- Chapter 8. Transmitting knowledge.- Chapter 9. Conclusion. 

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“For public health advocates, the sluggish and patchy response to the obvious rising tide of obesity and diabetes is somewhat puzzling and certainly frustrating. John Boswell incisively investigates this stalemate with some insightful research and a set of new perspectives. His diagnosis and remedies may surprise you but, to me, they make very good sense.” (Boyd Swinburn, Professor of Population Nutrition and Global Health at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and Alfred Deakin Professor and Director of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention at Deakin University, Australia)

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Carolina M Borges, PhD; MPH; DDS(The College of New Jersey)
Description: In his book, the author presents a bold and necessary critical discussion of the issue of obesity in Australia and the U.K. It is a call for rethinking (why not also a call for action?) our understanding of the obesity epidemic, not only in the two investigated scenarios, but worldwide.
Purpose: The author sets out a deep, well-organized sequence of findings from diverse sources of literature that expose the dissidence in the profiles of villains, victims, and heroes of this war, according to different layers of society. Ultimately, the book aims to bring the issue of obesity back to the attention of government, since the real battle is truly a political one over the meaning and nature of obesity.
Audience: This book is recommended for public health, policy, and social science scholars or others seeking a broad understanding of how the use of evidence and knowledge may shift the policy making process. It is also a must read for public policy makers and politicians.
Features: Obesity is one of our most pressing public health problems. Populations are aging, and the increase in chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and diabetes together account for an increasing number of deaths worldwide. Obesity is strongly linked to both. Overall, more than 1.9 billion adults aged 18 years and older were overweight in 2014. Of those, over 600 million were considered obese according to the World Health Organization. The good news? Obesity is preventable. This compelling work just doesn't point out the negative impact of obesity on society, it also emphasizes how contributions from different stakeholders can be complementary. The author states that policy engagement must be more than just empathetic initiatives. It is necessary to address the lack of mobilization by bringing together people who are in need and or at risk, public health advocates, and representatives of government.
Assessment: Broadening knowledge on this issue by balancing the evidence with other forms of knowledge such as common sense, practice, expertise, and emotion may be a powerful strategy for confronting the problem of obesity.

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