Paging Dr. Economicus: The Economics of ‘Obesity’ in the Canadian Medical Association Journal

Auteurs-es

  • Angela Eileen Wisniewski Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick

DOI :

https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v1i3.55

Mots-clés :

fat studies, medicalization, neoliberalism, health policy, obesity

Résumé

Drawing on Rose’s (1999) theory of advanced liberal governance, this study examines the introduction of economic rhetoric into the Canadian Medical Association’s discourse on ‘obesity’ policy and considers the positioning of the fat subject within this discourse. Following Clarke’s (2007) suggestion that the subordination of the social to the economic in a neoliberal policy environment is imperfect and contested, I argue that there is evidence to suggest that the CMA has at times adapted an economized ‘obesity’ discourse to introduce the values of equity and social inclusiveness to policy debates. However, I suggest that existing debates in public health discourse need to be challenged and expanded in order to adequately acknowledge the problems of weight-based prejudice and discrimination.

Biographie de l'auteur-e

Angela Eileen Wisniewski, Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick

Angela Wisniewski (awisniew@unb.ca) is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick, where she specializes in the sociology of the body, aging, and cultural sociology. Informed by theories of late-modernity and risk society, her doctoral research explores weight-loss dieting as a technology of self and means of risk management through a qualitative study of older women dieters.

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Comment citer

Wisniewski, A. E. (2012). Paging Dr. Economicus: The Economics of ‘Obesity’ in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. Revue Canadienne d’études Sur Le Handicap, 1(3), 22–44. https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v1i3.55

Numéro

Vol. 1 No. 3 (2012)

Rubrique

Articles

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