Whose Voice Counts? A Critical Examination of Discourses Surrounding the Body Mass Index

The Body Mass Index (BMI) is almost universally used by health practitioners and the general public to determine how to classify a person's body in terms of relative weight. The author traces the story of the vocal actors who developed and championed the BMI as it moved from obscurity to occupy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inFat studies Vol. 1; no. 2; pp. 195 - 207
Main Author Anderson, Jenn
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2012
Subjects
body mass index
fat studies
health communication
weight discourse
weight stigma
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Summary:The Body Mass Index (BMI) is almost universally used by health practitioners and the general public to determine how to classify a person's body in terms of relative weight. The author traces the story of the vocal actors who developed and championed the BMI as it moved from obscurity to occupy a central position in dominant discourse about body size and its relationship to health. She also highlights the voice of a fat advocate who is challenging not only the BMI, but the general dominant discourse concerning the relationship between body size, health, and personal value. The article serves as a call to all communication researchers working in health contexts to carefully consider how their work might reinforce or challenge this dominant discourse.
ISSN:2160-4851
2160-486X
DOI:10.1080/21604851.2012.656500