The Body Politic: Childhood Obesity as a Symbol of an Unbalanced Economy

Abstract

As society's novices, children are becoming more susceptible to advertisers who target them as a profitable demographic. This creates an alarming trend of obesity and exacts a considerable financial, physical and ethical toll on the community. To view obesity as concurrent with malnourishment seems counter-intuitive, this study uses Butler's description of the body as the enactment of hegemony, in order to reveal a tension between our cultural and economic ideologies manifesting in children's bodies. To come closer to this, the social context of food is examined; its production and distribution in light of today's overabundance of mass-marketed low-quality foods, to show how this state of unbalance affects children's bodies. Next, literature from the health-related fields regarding the negative impact of advertising directed at children is examined, to support the argument for educational policies tailored to the current political context. As the ideology of consumerism becomes increasingly connected to children's bodies, intervention strategies must begin teaching them how to navigate this complex political landscape in order to inculcate a more balanced and alternative perspective on accountability and consumption.