Obesity as a Socially Defined Disease: Philosophical Considerations and Implications for Policy and Care
| العنوان: | Obesity as a Socially Defined Disease: Philosophical Considerations and Implications for Policy and Care |
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| المؤلفون: | Bjørn Hofmann |
| المصدر: | Health Care Analysis. 24:86-100 |
| بيانات النشر: | Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2015. |
| سنة النشر: | 2015 |
| مصطلحات موضوعية: | medicine.medical_specialty, Health (social science), business.industry, Health Policy, Public health, 030209 endocrinology & metabolism, Disease, Population health, Public relations, Health informatics, 03 medical and health sciences, Issues, ethics and legal aspects, 0302 clinical medicine, Social Conditions, Medicalization, Health care, Humans, Medicine, Obesity, 030212 general & internal medicine, Social determinants of obesity, business, Psychiatry, Social Welfare, Health policy |
| الوصف: | Obesity has generated significant worries amongst health policy makers and has obtained increased attention in health care. Obesity is unanimously defined as a disease in the health care and health policy literature. However, there are pragmatic and not principled reasons for this. This warrants an analysis of obesity according to standard conceptions of disease in the literature of philosophy of medicine. According to theories and definitions of disease referring to (abnormal functioning of) internal processes, obesity is not a disease. Obesity undoubtedly can result in disease, making it a risk factor for disease, but not a disease per se. According to several social conceptions of disease, however, obesity clearly is a disease. Obesity can conflict with aesthetic, moral, or other social norms. Making obesity a "social disease" may very well be a wise health policy, assuring and improving population health, especially if we address the social determinants of obesity, such as the food supply and marketing system. However, applying biomedical solutions to social problems may also have severe side effects. It can result in medicalization and enhance stigmatization and discrimination of persons based on appearance or behavior. Approaching social problems with biomedical means may also serve commercial and professionals' interests more than the health and welfare of individuals; it may make quick fix medical solutions halt more sustainable structural solutions. This urges health insurers, health care professionals, and health policy makers to be cautious. Especially if we want to help and respect persons that we classify and treat as obese. |
| تدمد: | 1573-3394 1065-3058 |
| URL الوصول: | https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_dedup___::c98c731121b46be570f5e245ff379b7e https://doi.org/10.1007/s10728-015-0291-1 |
| حقوق: | CLOSED |
| رقم الأكسشن: | edsair.doi.dedup.....c98c731121b46be570f5e245ff379b7e |
| قاعدة البيانات: | OpenAIRE |
Find this article in full text from Springer Verlag. | تدمد: | 15733394 10653058 |
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