Canadian Senate Report on Obesity: Focusing on Individual Behaviours versus Social Determinants of Health May Promote Weight Stigma
Date
2018-07-02
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Publisher
Hindawi
Abstract
Very little attention has been given to unintended consequences of government reporting on obesity. This paper argues that the
2016 Senate report, “Obesity in Canada: A Whole-Of-Society Approach,” exemplifies the systemic public health issue of weight
stigma. The purpose of this viewpoint is to critique the approach taken in the Report, by illustrating that it (1) takes a weight centric
approach to health, (2) does not acknowledge important limitations of the definition and measurement of obesity, (3)
reifies obesity as a categorical phenomenon that must be prevented, and (4) uses aggressive framing and disrespectful terminology.
The Report perpetuates a focus on the individual, thereby failing to recognize the role that governments can play in reducing
weight stigma and addressing social determinants of health. If steps are taken to avoid propagating weight stigma, future reports
could more constructively address health promotion, equity, and social determinants of health in their policies.
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Citation
Canadian Senate Report on Obesity: Focusing on Individual Behaviours versus Social Determinants of Health May Promote Weight Stigma—Alberga—2018—Journal of Obesity—Wiley Online Library. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1155/2018/8645694