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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2017 Sep 1;108(5-6):e598–e608. doi: 10.17269/CJPH.108.6044

A critical analysis of obesity prevention policies and strategies

Ximena Ramos Salas 121,✉, Mary Forhan 221, Timothy Caulfield 321, Arya M Sharma 421, Kim Raine 121
PMCID: PMC6972457  PMID: 31823280

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Public health policies have been criticized for promoting a simplistic narrative that may contribute to weight bias. Weight bias can impact population health by increasing morbidity and mortality. The objectives of this study were to: 1 ) critically analyze Canadian obesity prevention policies and strategies to identify underlying dominant narratives; 2) deconstruct dominant narratives and consider the unintended consequences for people with obesity; and 3) make recommendations to change dominant obesity narratives that may be contributing to weight bias.

METHODS: We applied Bacchi’s “what’s-the-problem-represented-to-be?” (WPR) approach to 15 obesity prevention policies and strategies (1 national, 2 territorial and 12 provincial). Bacchi’s WPR approach is composed of six analytical questions designed to identify conceptual assumptions as well as possible effects of policies.

RESULTS: We identified five prevailing narratives that may have implications for public health approaches and unintended consequences for people with obesity: 1 ) childhood obesity threatens the health of future generations and must be prevented; 2) obesity can be prevented through healthy eating and physical activity; 3) obesity is an individual behaviour problem; 4) achieving a healthy body weight should be a population health target; and 5) obesity is a risk factor for other chronic diseases, not a disease in itself.

CONCLUSION: The consistent way in which obesity is constructed in Canadian policies and strategies may be contributing to weight bias in our society. We provide some recommendations for changing these narratives to prevent further weight bias and obesity stigma.

Key words: Obesity, policy, public health, weight bias

Footnotes

Acknowledgements: The authors thank Dr. Rebecca Puhl, Deputy Director at the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity and Professor in the Department of Human & Family Studies at the University of Connecticut; Mr. Brad Hussey, Director of Communication and External Relations at the Canadian Obesity Network-Réseau canadien en obésité (CON-RCO); and Mary-Pat Lambert, Policy Analyst, Population Health Promotion and Innovation Division, Public Health Agency of Canada for review and feedback on this paper.

Source of Funding: The corresponding author was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fellowship for Population Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention administered by the CIHR Training Grant in Population Intervention for Chronic Disease Prevention: A Pan-Canadian Program (PICDP) at the Propel Center for Population Health Impact at the University of Waterloo.

Conflict of Interest: A. Sharma declares that he receives consultancy fees from Novo Nordisk (Canada and Global Advisory Board for anti-obesity medication). He also declares receiving payment for development of educational presentations, including service on speakers’ bureau. He has had travel/accommodations expenses covered or reimbursed in conjunction with consulting and speaker bureau activities as outlined above.

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