268.6
Sugar BABY - the System of Medicalization(s) Around Childhood Obesity

Thursday, July 17, 2014: 9:30 AM
Room: F206
Distributed Paper
Arianna RADIN , university of Turin, Turin, Italy
Obesity is considered  a pandemic and childhood obesity is considered one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century by Who.
The medicalization of childhood obesity is a clear example of the medicalization of risk. It is believed that the obese child is more likely to have high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol or of becoming diabetic already in childhood but also in adulthood.
The statistics on risk are the basis of any program of health promotion, real vehicle of the system of medicalizations about childhood obesity: the entire life cycle of the child is kept under control and medicalized, from pregnancy to breastfeeding, from food choices for physical activity.
In European context, the engine towards medicalization of excess weight in children come mainly from health professionals and major Food Companies.
The present paper shows the first evidences about the comparison of health promotion programs on childhood obesity in Europe from  the European Charter on counteracting obesity (2006) to the most recent Vienna Declaration on Nutrition and Noncommunicable Diseases in the Context of Health 2020 (2013)  made by Institutions, health professionals and european Food Companies.