Confusing constructions: Exploring the meaning of health with children in “obesity” treatment

Fat studies scholars challenge the notion of the “obesity epidemic,” explicating how “obesity” discourse serves to shape our views of health and the body. It is argued that childhood “obesity,” in particular, has been constructed as a modern day scourge that threatens the future health of populations. The authors provide an examination of the embodied experiences of children enrolled in an “obesity” treatment program in a Canadian hospital. Utilizing a feminist poststructural framework, they provide narratives illustrating how these children construct their meanings of health and how “obesity” discourse restricts fat children’s opportunity to identify as healthy.