Obesity, business and public policy

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Bibliographic Information

Obesity, business and public policy

edited by Zoltan J. Acs, Alan Lyles

E. Elgar, 2009, c2007

  • : pbk

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Includes bibliographical references and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

The effects of obesity have become practically ubiquitous in the US. This book aims to provide an alternative framework through which to explore the important and controversial obesity debate that has spilled over from the medical community. This book is not about obesity as a medical condition, nor does it offer a wide-ranging discussion on the health effects of obesity or the role of the 'right' diet. To this end, the contributors present a multidisciplinary portrait of this complex problem. They explore the rising trend in obesity of the US in terms of its significant economic and social consequences. The web of underlying causes of the 'infrastructure of obesity', they explain, lies with public policy decisions, economic factors and profit opportunities as well as the more obvious nutrition and health choices of individuals. Prevention and treatment of this now global pandemic are then tackled from the perspectives of businesses, governments, society and the individual. The taxation, marketing, cultural, ethical and institutional dimensions of obesity are also addressed. Obesity, Business and Public Policy is unique in its broad social science approach, exploring the obesity epidemic from economic, business, legal, social and public policy perspectives. As such, this truly multidisciplinary study will make fascinating reading for academics and professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds including: business, economics, public and social policy, medicine and nutrition.

Table of Contents

Contents: Foreword Former Governor Michael Huckabee Preface 1. Introduction Zoltan J. Acs and Alan Lyles PART I: CULTURE, OBESITY AND INSTITUTIONS 2. The Spread of Obesity David B. Audretsch and Dawne DiOrio PART II: OBESITY AND THE INDIVIDUAL 3. The Economics of Childhood Obesity Policy John Cawley 4. Obesity, Poverty and Diversity: Theoretical and Strategic Challenges Lenneal J. Henderson 5. The Labor Market Impact of Obesity John Cawley PART III: OBESITY AND BUSINESS 6. Mixed Messages in Marketing Communications about Food and Obesity Stephen J. Gould and Fiona Sussan 7. Weight Control, Private Health Insurance and Public Policies Alan Lyles and Ann Cotten PART IV: OBESITY AND GOVERNMENT 8. The Infrastructure of Obesity Zoltan J. Acs, Ann Cotten and Kenneth R. Stanton 9. Federal Communication about Obesity in the Dietary Guidelines and Checkoff Programs Parke E. Wilde 10. Tax Solutions to the External Costs of Obesity Julie Ann Elston, Kenneth R. Stanton, David T. Levy and Zoltan J. Acs PART V: LESSONS FROM THE PAST 11. Tobacco Control as a Model for Trimming the Obesity Problem David T. Levy and Marilyn Oblak 12. Perspectives on the Economic and Cultural Effects of Obesity Litigation: Lessons from Pelman v McDonald's Jose Felipe Anderson PART VI: POLICY CONCLUSIONS 13. A Policy Framework for Confronting Obesity Zoltan J. Acs, Lenneal J. Henderson, David T. Levy, Alan Lyles and Kenneth R. Stanton Index

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