W. A Bogart. 2013. Regulating Obesity? Government, Society, and Questions of Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. $85. pp. 224. Hardback. ISBN 978‐0‐19‐985620‐6.

• Author: Tinapa Himathongkam
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.134
• Published date: 01 March 2015
• Date: 01 March 2015

Book Review

W.A. Bogart. 2013. Regulating Obesity? Government, Society, and Questions of Health.

Oxford: Oxford University Press. $85. pp. 224. Hardback. ISBN 978-0-19-985620-6.

The pace at which the obesity epidemic has been spreading in the past 3

decades has attracted much attention from health-care professionals, policy-

makers, researchers, and other stakeholders alike. Programs and policies aimed at

addressing the issue have largely focused on weight loss as the primary indicator

of success. W. A. Bogart argues, in Regulating Obesity? Government, Society, and

Questions of Health, that that approach has not only failed to curb obesity rates but

also created prejudice against fat individuals. The author suggests that the

emphasis should instead be on encouraging a healthy lifestyle while letting

weight loss be the outcome rather than the end goal.

Authored by a professor of law, the book explores the effectiveness and the

implications of the legal approach to regulating consumption and in creating

norms. The essence of his previous volume, Permit But Discourage: Regulating

Excessive Consumption, is echoed throughout the book as the most appropriate

role of law. The focus should shift from weight loss to the promotion of a healthy

lifestyle that includes nutritious diets and adequate exercise. The major fallacy in

putting weight loss in the spotlight is the failure to emphasize the means to

achieve that end in a sustainable manner. The majority of people who manage to

shed pounds off their weight regain everything in 5 years.

The work consists of three parts. Part I explores existing regulations and legal

interventions and evaluates their effectiveness, or the lack thereof, in reducing

obesity rates. Bogart uses alcohol and tobacco control as parallel cases of

undesirable consumption. Law, he argues, cannot change behavior. Rather, it is

most effective when used to regulate the environment that discourages unwanted

behaviors. Bogart also emphasizes the importance of a “regulatory mix,”

combining various legal strategies, and its relationship with societal norms.

Smoking in the mid-20th century, for example, was viewed as a glamorous act in

the media. The common perception was that smoking promoted sociability and

even suppressed appetite. It was the simultaneous changing norms and the use of

regulations that led to a clear reduction in tobacco use. The image of smokers

World Medical & Health Policy, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2015

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1948-4682 #2015 Policy Studies Organization

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