ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the ways in which United Kingdom (UK) governmental obesity policy and framework documents have been interpreted and reported by the news media across the past 11 years. Obesity is complex and many frameworks are used to try to explain it, including those of genetics, physiology, psychology, economics, anthropology, and sociology. Food governance issues further complicate obesity policy formulation and implementation. There are a large number of sources from which obesity policy can emanate in the UK, and this adds to the cacophony of obesity policy formation. Makers of obesity and obesity-related policy are diverse, including governmental and non-governmental organizations. The National Audit Offices publication Tackling Obesity in England reported on the tripling of obesity rates in England over the past 20 years. It also reported on population obesity's purported costs to the National Health Service (NHS), as well as to the wider economy, because of lower productivity and lost output.
