{"id":{"repo_id":"laurentian","oai_identifier":"oai:laurentian.scholaris.ca:10219/3505"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/laurentian/oai:laurentian.scholaris.ca:10219/3505","repository":{"repo_id":"laurentian","name":"Laurentian University","base_url":"https://laurentian.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Neoliberal bodies: ideology and obesity","abstract":"Recent reconsideration of the history of 20th century obesity research suggests that the etiology1 of obesity has been fundamentally misunderstood or misrepresented (Gard & Wright, 2005; Guthman, 2011; Phinney & Volek, 2011; Taubes, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2016; Teicholz, 2014). The reasons for this are manifold and one is that 20th century obesity research is fraught with bias. There is a temporal overlap between the establishment of the modern theory of obesity and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in Western countries. I posit that the evidence of the influence of neoliberalism is discernible when considering both how the etiology of obesity has been [mis]understood and how the obese are characterized. Further, I argue that neoliberal policy and governance have contributed to increased levels of obesity. Through discourse analysis (Foucault, 1972) and institutional ethnography (Smith, 2005), I consider the ways in which neoliberalism and the social organization of scientific knowledge have influenced obesity science. I also identify how the resultant conceptualization of obesity that appears in Canadian public health reports reflects neoliberal ideological bias.","abstract_html":"Recent reconsideration of the history of 20th century obesity research suggests that the etiology1 of obesity has been fundamentally misunderstood or misrepresented (Gard & Wright, 2005; Guthman, 2011; Phinney & Volek, 2011; Taubes, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2016; Teicholz, 2014). The reasons for this are manifold and one is that 20th century obesity research is fraught with bias. There is a temporal overlap between the establishment of the modern theory of obesity and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in Western countries. I posit that the evidence of the influence of neoliberalism is discernible when considering both how the etiology of obesity has been [mis]understood and how the obese are characterized. Further, I argue that neoliberal policy and governance have contributed to increased levels of obesity. Through discourse analysis (Foucault, 1972) and institutional ethnography (Smith, 2005), I consider the ways in which neoliberalism and the social organization of scientific knowledge have influenced obesity science. I also identify how the resultant conceptualization of obesity that appears in Canadian public health reports reflects neoliberal ideological bias.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["McFarland, Virginia"],"institution":"Laurentian University of Sudbury","degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.) in Sociology","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-06-02","date_published":"2020-06-02","updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:45:55Z","subjects":["Neoliberalism,","ideology","policy","governance","discourse analysis","Foucault","Smith"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://laurentian.scholaris.ca/handle/10219/3505","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"source_record":{"url":"https://laurentian.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Alaurentian.scholaris.ca%3A10219%2F3505","prefix":"dim"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["McFarland, Virginia"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2020-06-17T14:09:01Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-06-17T14:09:01Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2020-06-02"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Laurentian University of Sudbury"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.) in Sociology"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Laurentian University of Sudbury"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Neoliberalism,","ideology","policy","governance","discourse analysis","Foucault","Smith"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://laurentian.scholaris.ca/handle/10219/3505"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Recent reconsideration of the history of 20th century obesity research suggests that the etiology1 of obesity has been fundamentally misunderstood or misrepresented (Gard & Wright, 2005; Guthman, 2011; Phinney & Volek, 2011; Taubes, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2016; Teicholz, 2014). The reasons for this are manifold and one is that 20th century obesity research is fraught with bias. There is a temporal overlap between the establishment of the modern theory of obesity and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in Western countries. I posit that the evidence of the influence of neoliberalism is discernible when considering both how the etiology of obesity has been [mis]understood and how the obese are characterized. Further, I argue that neoliberal policy and governance have contributed to increased levels of obesity. Through discourse analysis (Foucault, 1972) and institutional ethnography (Smith, 2005), I consider the ways in which neoliberalism and the social organization of scientific knowledge have influenced obesity science. I also identify how the resultant conceptualization of obesity that appears in Canadian public health reports reflects neoliberal ideological bias."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Neoliberal bodies: ideology and obesity"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["McFarland, Virginia"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2020-06-17T14:09:01Z"],"dc:date.available":["2020-06-17T14:09:01Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2020-06-02"],"dc:description.abstract":["Recent reconsideration of the history of 20th century obesity research suggests that the etiology1 of obesity has been fundamentally misunderstood or misrepresented (Gard & Wright, 2005; Guthman, 2011; Phinney & Volek, 2011; Taubes, 2002, 2007, 2011, 2016; Teicholz, 2014). The reasons for this are manifold and one is that 20th century obesity research is fraught with bias. There is a temporal overlap between the establishment of the modern theory of obesity and the entrenchment of neoliberalism in Western countries. I posit that the evidence of the influence of neoliberalism is discernible when considering both how the etiology of obesity has been [mis]understood and how the obese are characterized. Further, I argue that neoliberal policy and governance have contributed to increased levels of obesity. Through discourse analysis (Foucault, 1972) and institutional ethnography (Smith, 2005), I consider the ways in which neoliberalism and the social organization of scientific knowledge have influenced obesity science. I also identify how the resultant conceptualization of obesity that appears in Canadian public health reports reflects neoliberal ideological bias."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://laurentian.scholaris.ca/handle/10219/3505"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Laurentian University of Sudbury"],"dc:subject":["Neoliberalism,","ideology","policy","governance","discourse analysis","Foucault","Smith"],"dc:title":["Neoliberal bodies: ideology and obesity"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.) in Sociology"],"thesis:institution_name":["Laurentian University of Sudbury"]},"updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:45:55Z"}