Shame, Blame, and the Emerging Law of Obesity Control

Authors

Lindsay WileyFollow

First Page

121

Abstract

In using law as a tool to combat the obesity epidemic, legal scholars and policymakers are drawing heavily on the lessons of tobacco control. This Article describes the resulting emergence of "obesity control law" and argues for a radical reorientation of it from a "denormalization" strategy based on the tobacco control experience to a "destigmatization" strategy based on the HIV prevention experience. The war on obesity is nearing a political crossroads. Subsidies and food industry regulations aimed at making our environment more conducive to physical activity and healthy eating are in danger of losing out to cheaper and more politically palatable measures aimed at convincing obese individuals to lose weight without making it more feasible for them to do so.

Repository Citation

Lindsay Wiley, Shame, Blame, and the Emerging Law of Obesity Control, U.C. Davis Law Review 121 (2013).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/663