The relationship between socio-economic determinants of ill-health and child obesity. A qualitative, cultural analytical study.

Within pediatric healthcare, family-based efforts are made to try and manage excess weight in children and prevent obesity. The aim of this project is to study how the meeting between healthcare staff and families with different backgrounds is affected by culturally determined attitudes and ideals. How is the “problem” of childhood obesity presented and understood? How do “Swedishness”, ethnicity

On the basis of a modern, western notion of the ideal body, obesity in general and overweight children in particular stand out as deviant and a serious social problem. The question is what sort of problem and for whom? There are different views as to whether obesity should be considered an illness or a result of a certain lifestyle and whether this is a problem of health or aesthetics. Can obesity be prevented and is society or the individual responsible for ensuring that this is done?

Historically, excessive weight has been associated with low morals and social class. Hardly surprising then that the so-called “childhood obesity epidemic” of the 2000s is often described as a class issue in which socially and economically vulnerable groups are presumed to be most affected. Products such as fizzy drinks and crisps and activities like watching TV and playing games are presented as the root of all evil. Descriptions of the dangers of these activities are coloured by cultural attitudes to class and ethnicity.

The aim of this project is to investigate in what way the meeting between healthcare staff and families of different backgrounds is characterised by cultural attitudes and ideals. How is the problem of childhood obesity described? How does healthcare staff view the lifestyle of these families? How do the families relate to the way