It is routinely declared that contemporary society is in the midst of a global 'obesity crisis', ultimately the result of inactive lifestyles and poor diets. What medicine calls 'obesity', and its precursor 'overweight', must be fought, we are told, because they lead to escalating morbidity and mortality from associated ill health. A sense of impending disaster that must be averted through collective and individual action continues to be emphasized, such that fatness is routinely framed as a deficiency of social and individual responsibility. Drawing on work from scholars across a range of disciplines, and health practitioners, this book brings together critical perspectives on some of the recent claims associated with the obesity crisis. The book develops both theoretical and conceptual arguments around the obesity debate, as well as taking a more practical focus in terms of implications for the health professions. Authors offer a range of alternative perspectives, including critiques of the adequacies of scientific knowledge, the consequences of the stigmatisation of fat, the impact of pervasive body surveillance associated with weight management and the implications for health professionals to outline a new 'critical weight studies' agenda
Includes bibliographical references and index
Introduction : Contesting obesity discourse and presenting an alternative / Emma Rich, Lee F. Monaghan and Lucy Aphramor -- Does fat kill? A critique of the epidemiological evidence / Paul Campos -- Bodily sensibility : vocabularies of the discredited male body / Lee F. Monaghan and Michael Hardey -- 'You can't be supersized?' Exploring femininities, body size and control within the obesity terrain / Irmgard Tischner and Helen Malson -- Doing more good than harm? The absent presence of children's bodies in (anti- )obesity policy / Bethan Evans and Rachel Colls -- Children's bodies, surveillance and the obesity crisis / Emma Rich, John Evans and Laura De Pian -- Fat lib : how fat activism expands the obesity debate / Charlotte Cooper -- Helping people change : promoting politicised practice in the health care professions / Lucy Aphramor and Jacqui Gingras -- Conclusion : Reflections on and developing critical weight studies / Lee F. Monaghan, Emma Rich and Lucy Aphramor
