Bringing the body into policy

Discussions about the impact of obesity on the UK’s health and economy can lead to shaming and stigmatising overweight individuals, portraying them as a drain on public services, according to researchers. Furthermore, they say standard measurements of health such as BMI embed racism and ableism in health and reinforce inequalities. 

As part of their AberCollab project, researchers at Aberystwyth University sought to critically engage with health policy and propose an alternative and more holistic vision for the health and wellbeing of people in Wales  using the principles of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act.

The Act proposes a ‘compassionate’ approach to health and wellbeing that facilitates an understanding of mental wellbeing and encourages physical activity. However, it does not include detailed and specific actions, beyond a focus on BMI, particularly in relation to weight and health. Researchers aimed therefore to develop a practice-led project which sought to inform future policy development, exploring alternative approaches to food, nutrition, body-size and health, informed by different approaches to nutrition and body image. A one-day workshop was held with speakers from a range of disciplines, including critical dietetics, health sociology, critical disability studies and human geography.

Dr Emma Sheppard, a Lecturer in Sociology in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences at Aberystwyth, said: “Our workshop focused on identifying commonalities in our own approaches to conceptualising health and wellbeing, before focusing on the ethics of carrying out research that could contribute to health policy. Because our speakers represented such a range of disciplines, it was helpful to see how conversations around weight in healthcare encounters emerge and intersect so much with class, race, gender, disability and age.”

Dr Elizabeth Gagen, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at Aberystwyth University, said: “We discussed a pilot research project and identified two particular approaches which we are now considering in more depth. One of these projects would centre on the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act and would involve conducting research into the factors that encourage people to flourish, within and beyond traditional models such as the social determinants of health. The project outcomes would reconceptualise the indicators currently used to measure health and wellbeing in the Wellbeing Act. We believe implementing different measures would improve the care people receive by foregrounding dignity, respect and trauma-informed approaches to health and wellbeing.”