Contributions from European Symbolic Interactionists Reflections on Methods

OBESITY AS DISEASE AND

DEVIANCE: RISK AND MORALITY

IN EARLY 21ST CENTURY

Roel Pieterman

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates whether in the case of obesity medicalization

implies transforming deviants into patients. First, a brief history is pre-

sented of the social construction of obesity as an epidemic. Since the turn

of the millennium obesity experts claim that a continuously increasing

proportion of the Western population is becoming overweight and that

this trend is spreading across the globe. Other claims have been made as

well, such as that fatter people die younger and add substantially to the

cost of health care. Counterclaims have been made too, such as that in

Western countries obesity no longer increases and that only extreme

obesity increases the risk of dying young.

Furthermore, several explanations for the obesity epidemic are discussed.

Public health experts all over the world prefer two explanations that

suggest the obesity problem is amenable to intervention. Most basically,

it is held that people become overweight because their intake of calories

exceeds their expenditure. In addition it is proposed that modern socie-

ties are obesogenic, for example, offering food in abundance while

Contributions from European Symbolic Interactionists: Reflections on Methods
Studies in Symbolic Interaction, Volume 44, 117
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