Weighty Issues: Fatness and Thinness as Social Problems (Social Problems & Social Issues) - Hardcover

Jeffery Sobal

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0202305791 ISBN 13: 9780202305790

Publisher: Aldine Transaction, 1999

Synopsis

Many people consider their weight to be a personal problem; when, then, does body weight become a social problem? Until recently, the major public concern was whether enough food was consistently available. As food systems began to provide ample and stable amounts of food, questions about food availability were replaced with concerns about "ideal" weights and appearance. These interests were aggregated into public concerns about defining people as "too fat" and "too thin."

Social constructionist perspectives can contribute to the understanding of weight problems because they focus attention on how these problems are created, maintained, and promoted within various social environments. While there is much objectivist research concerning weight problems, few studies address the socially constructed aspects of fatness and thinness.

This book however draws from and contributes to social constructionist perspectives. The chapters in this volume offer several perspectives that can be used to understand the way society deals with fatness and thinness. The contributors consider historical foundations, medical models, gendered dimensions, institutional components, and collective perspectives. These different perspectives illustrate the multifaceted nature of obesity and eating disorders, providing examples of how a variety of social groups construct weight as a social problem. 

About this title

About the Author

Donna Maurer is John S. Knight Postdoctoral Fellow in the Writing Program, Cornell University. She also serves on the board of directors of the Association for the Study of Food and Society and is an adjunct professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland University College. 

Review

“Like its companion Interpreting Weight (Choice, Feb. 2000), this edited volume employs a social constructionist perspective. However, the articles here are sociohistorical and political-economic analyses of the processes that have defined social problems related to body weight. . . . The emphasis on the role of institutions and the historical perspective here will be particularly appreciated by those who may find that a symbolic interactionist perspective provides an incomplete sociological understanding of weight-related themes. General readers; undergraduates through faculty.”

—L. A. Crandall, Choice

“Weighty Issues focuses on fatness and thinness as social problems with subsections on historical foundations, medical models, gendered dimensions, institutional components, and collective processes.”

—Carol A. B. Warren, Contemporary Sociology

Edition details

• Publisher: Aldine Transaction
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0202305791
• ISBN 13: 9780202305790
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 260