Taking a comparative approach, this book investigates the ways in which obesity and its susceptibilities are framed in science and policy and how they might work better. Providing a clear, authoritative voice on the debate, the author builds on early work to engage further in ecological and complexity thinking in obesity. Many of the models that have emerged since obesity became a population-level issue are examined, including the energy balance model, and models used to examine human body fatness from a range of perspectives including evolutionary, anthropological, environmental, and political viewpoints. The book is ideal for those working on, or interested in, obesity science, health policy, health economics, evolutionary medicine, medical sociology, nutrition and public health who want to understand the shifts that have taken place in obesity science, policy, and intervention in the past forty years.

Examines the different ways in which obesity is framed in science and policy
Takes a deeper examination of obesity models and the rationalities that underpin them, allowing a comparative approach to obesity to be understood within a unifying framework
Builds on early work on obesity models to develop a unifying approach to what has become a diverse field


Table of Contents

Acknowledgements and influences
1. Introduction
2. Rationalities and models of obesity
3. Energy balance, genetics and obesogenic environments
4. Governance through measurement
5. Inequalities
6. Food and eating
7. Global transformations of diet
8. Obesity science and policy
9. Complexity
10. Systems and rationalities
Bibliography
Index