Rogan Kersh1. 1. NYU Wagner School, New York University, 295 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012, USA. rk79@nyu.edu
Abstract
CONTEXT: The continuing rise in obesity rates across the United States has proved impervious to clinical treatment or public health exhortation, necessitating policy responses. Nearly a decade's worth of political debates may be hardening into an obesity issue regime, comprising established sets of cognitive frames, stakeholders, and policy options. METHODS: This article is a survey of reports on recently published studies. FINDINGS: Much of the political discussion regarding obesity is centered on two "frames," personal-responsibility and environmental, yielding very different sets of policy responses. While policy efforts at the federal level have resulted in little action to date, state and/or local solutions such as calorie menu labeling and the expansion of regulations to reduce unhealthy foods at school may have more impact. CONCLUSIONS: Obesity politics is evolving toward a relatively stable state of equilibrium, which could make comprehensive reforms to limit rising obesity rates less feasible. Therefore, to achieve meaningful change, rapid-response research identifying a set of promising reforms, combined with concerted lobbying action, will be necessary.
CONTEXT: The continuing rise in obesity rates across the United States has proved impervious to clinical treatment or public health exhortation, necessitating policy responses. Nearly a decade's worth of political debates may be hardening into an obesity issue regime, comprising established sets of cognitive frames, stakeholders, and policy options. METHODS: This article is a survey of reports on recently published studies. FINDINGS: Much of the political discussion regarding obesity is centered on two "frames," personal-responsibility and environmental, yielding very different sets of policy responses. While policy efforts at the federal level have resulted in little action to date, state and/or local solutions such as calorie menu labeling and the expansion of regulations to reduce unhealthy foods at school may have more impact. CONCLUSIONS:Obesity politics is evolving toward a relatively stable state of equilibrium, which could make comprehensive reforms to limit rising obesity rates less feasible. Therefore, to achieve meaningful change, rapid-response research identifying a set of promising reforms, combined with concerted lobbying action, will be necessary.
Authors: S Jay Olshansky; Douglas J Passaro; Ronald C Hershow; Jennifer Layden; Bruce A Carnes; Jacob Brody; Leonard Hayflick; Robert N Butler; David B Allison; David S Ludwig Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2005-03-17 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: Jason D Boardman; Michael E Roettger; Benjamin W Domingue; Matthew B McQueen; Brett C Haberstick; Kathleen M Harris Journal: J Theor Polit Date: 2012-07-01