The way we frame the causes consequences of childhood obesity determines public support for obesity policies. New research coming out of the University of Minnesota, Johns Hopkins and Cornell University has discovered fascinating new insights on how political affiliations respond to the consequences of childhood obesity. Sarah Gollust and her colleagues found that conservatives responded strongly when researchers emphasized military readiness. Moderates responded strongly to reports about the increase in bullying, and liberals responded strongly to the effect of childhood obesity on healthcare costs. In addition, Colleen Berry and her colleagues from Yale have made the important discovery that when obesity is framed as a condition that is blamed on the behavior of individuals, there is little support for policies that work to address the epidemic. In contrast, when obesity is viewed as being caused by environmental, social and economic factors, there is an increase in support for policies that address the epidemic. Johns Hopkins Global Center on Childhood Obesity Johns Hopkins Medicine Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health University of Minnesota Cornell University Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity Yale University Yale University Press
Posted on: Wed, 18 Sep 2013 16:58:52 +0000