Re-thinking ‘the obesity problem’

ABSTRACT

In recent times the ‘obesity problem’ has become a key public health concern in Britain. As a consequence a range of policy initiatives have been put in place in order to treat obese bodies and to halt and prevent any increase in obesity rates. Situated within recent work in geography on health and embodiment which engages critically with medical knowledge, this article seeks to interrogate the notion that obesity is a ‘problem’ by presenting an alternative or critical account of obesity. This body of work, drawn from geography and other disciplines, is discussed with reference to three main research areas: first, research that challenges the medical science that links obesity to ill-health and mortality and questions the ways that obesity is measured using the Body Mass Index (BMI); second, research which focuses upon the everyday embodied experiences of fat bodies; and third, through research on and adhering to the ethos of size acceptance, a multi-faceted politicised collection of people and organisations that highlight the discrimination faced by fat and obese bodies and offer advice and support. This also involves promoting a Health At Every Size (HAES) approach to body acceptance which aims to resolve issues related to food and eating in ways that are not dependent on body size or weight loss.