as lazy or repulsive.^19 The normalization of the notion of overweight peo-
ple as unhealthy and making unhealthy choices offers new opportunities
for deviant identities. Above I mentioned the example of overweight
parents who were stripped of their parenting rights over their overweight
children. These parents are seen as putting their children’s health at risk by
instilling unhealthy lifestyle habits in them. Basham and Luik (2008)
provide an example from Scotland.^20
Even though public health expertswho are often advocates as well
promote “a war on obesity, not the obese” (Friedman, 2003),the fact that
they have to remind themselves of this indicates the risk of health-driven
denormalization of overweight people. It is significant that a review of
“The stigma of obesity” found that “The prevalence of weight discrimina-
tion in the United States has increased by 66% over the past decade, and is
comparable to rates of racial discrimination, especially among women.”
These authors also found that “Weight bias translates into inequities in
employment settings, health-care facilities, and educational institutions”
(Puhl & Heuer, 2009, p. 941). It is hard not to suspect a causal link between
this steep increase and the success story of the obesity epidemic.
Children tend to play a crucial role in overweight prevention. As children
aredeemed “innocent” the responsibility for their healthy choices rests with
their parents and their schools. Above I already provided the extreme exam-
ple of obese children taken out of custody of their obese parents. Schools
are responsibilizedfor instance through pressure to keep soda’s or snacks
outbut more importantly they are a site where societies’ and parents’ bad
influences can be countered. Gard and Wright claim in this context: “In the
name of protecting children from obesity, policies and practices are emer-
ging that seem to be completely counter to the emotional well-being of chil-
dren and damaging of their relationships with their parents.” Citing
research into one school health program they “describe the phenomenon of
‘fat laps’ where primary school students who have been identified as being
overweight are taken out at lunchtimes and made to run around the oval to
help them lose weight.” In another example, teachers were encouraged to
engage in “lunch box surveillance”(2005, p. 185).However, the teachers
themselves are also responsibilized, for instance through particular aspects
of their school’s insurance schemes (cf.Gard, 2011, pp. 82107).
One final example of criticism directed at the overweight populations
mayillustrate its global scope. This criticism is referred to above by using
the word “sustainable” and draws on parallel between obesity and climate
change. A strong example is offered byGlobesity: A Planet Out of Control?,
a book written by a group of French experts in public health nutrition,
associated with the WHO.^21 In this book and other research the parallel is
Obesity as Disease and Deviance 131