The Errors of Individualistic Public Health Interventions: Denial of Treatment to Obese Persons; Comment on “Denial of Treatment to Obese Patients—the Wrong Policy on Personal Responsibility for Health”

Document Type : Commentary

Author

Department of Bioethics & Interdisciplinary Studies, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, USA

Abstract

I agree entirely with Nir Eyal’s perspective that denying treatment to obese patients is morally wrong. However, the reasons for this belief differ in some ways from Eyal’s analysis. In this commentary, I will try to explain the similarities and differences in our perspectives. My primary claim is that the denial of treatment to obese patients is wrong principally because (i) it eschews a whole-population approach to the problem of poor nutrition and is therefore likely to be ineffective; (ii) it is likely to expand obesity-related health inequities; and (iii) it is likely to intensify stigma against already-marginalized social groups. I shall consider each in turn, and explore the extent to which Eyal would be likely to agree with my claims.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

1. Goldberg D. Social justice, health inequalities, and methodological individualism in US health promotion. Public Health Ethics 2012; 5: 104–15. doi: 10.1093/phe/phs013
2. Rose G. The Strategy of Preventive Medicine. New York: Oxford University; 1992. doi: 10.1002/sim.4780122312
3. Eyal N. Denial of treatment to obese patients—the wrong policy on personal responsibility for health. International Journal of Health Policy and Management 2013; 1: 107–10. doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2013.18
4. Crawshaw, Public Health Policy and the Behavioural Turn: The Case of Social Marketing. Critical Social Policy 2013; Forthcoming. doi: 10.1177/0261018313483489
5. Capewell S, Graham H. Will Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Widen Health Inequalities? PLoS Med 2010; 7: e1000320. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000320
6. Sumar N, McLaren L. Impact on social inequalities of population strategies of prevention for folate intake in women of childbearing age. Am J Public Health 2011; 101: 1218–24. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.300018
7. Link B, Phelan J. Stigma and its public health implications. Lancet 2006; 367: 528–9. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(06)68184-1
8. Hatzenbuehler M, Phelan J, Link B. Stigma as a fundamental cause of population health inequalities. Am J Public Health 2013; 103: 813–21. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2012.301069
9. Puhl R, Heuer C. Obesity stigma: important considerations for public health. Am J Public Health 2010; 100: 1019–28. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.159491
 

Files

History

  • Receive Date: 08 September 2013
  • Revise Date: 28 September 2013
  • Accept Date: 24 September 2013
  • First Publish Date: 28 September 2013

Share

How to cite

Statistics