ABSTRACT
Obesity is typically described as an epidemic, a medical term referring to infectious diseases, with the implication that obesity is an unstoppable infection. This is not confined to the press, but has become the standard term used by numerous public health agencies, including the World Health Organisation. Academic publications also use this term without distinguishing between its medical and colloquial meaning. The media also reported parents’ strong reactions to such initiatives, including protesting against the ‘fat letters’ that schools sent to parents whose children are considered obese. Sociological work can contribute to a better understanding of the complex issue of feeding children by studying different socio-cultural contexts. Moving away from the dominant Anglo-Saxon perspective of childhood and family life within much of the academic literature provides innovative and more nuanced ways of understanding how the increasingly globalised notions of ‘good’ parenting, childhood and family life are shaped in different contexts.
