Saguy and Almeling, “Fat Panic!”
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Fat Panic!
The “Obesity Epidemic” as Moral Panic
Introduction
Between 1980 and 2004, media attention to obesity increased exponentially, from 62 articles
published in the Lexis-Nexis US News Sources with “obesity” in the headings, lead paragraphs or key
terms in 1980 to over 6500 in 2004 (see Table 1). We see a similar trend if we examine only a select
number of US publications that were available on Lexis-Nexis since at least 1980 (see Table 2). Is this
level of media attention proportional to the growing rates of obesity or obesity-related illness in the US
population? Alternatively, is the growing media attention to obesity indicative of a “moral panic” defined
as the media dedicating an inordinate amount of concern and attention, relative to objective measures of
the problem and compared to other issues, because obesity is being defined as a “threat to societal values
and interests” (Cohen 1972:1)?
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INSERT TABLES 1-2 ABOUT HERE
Stanley Cohen (1972) argued in his classic Folk Devils and Moral Panics that moral panics
crystallize widespread fears and anxieties and displace them on to “folk devils,” or social group regarded
as immoral or degenerate. Are the visibly “obese” – who are also disproportionately poor women of color
– the folk devils in the “obesity epidemic,” whose apparent lack of self-control and irresponsibility
symbolize many social ills of contemporary society? Discussion of obesity as a “preventable” disease
that people bring on themselves through gluttony or sloth or on their children through lax parenting (or,
more specifically, mothering) do indeed seem to suggest this reading. According to this line of argument,
fat bodies literally embody a rejection of dominant American values of hard work, self-discipline, and the
dream of self-actualization. One might further argue that concerns about an obesity epidemic further tap
into fears about the disintegration of the “traditional” American family and the role of women as
homemakers who cook nutritious meals and supervise outdoor, active play.
In this case, cultural practices – and how these vary by class, race, and ethnicity – could be
largely responsible, beyond any legitimate health concerns, for heightened attention to obesity. The fact
that a disproportionate number of obese Americans are Mexican-American or African-American women
means that racial and ethnic stereotypes and fears – of laziness, fried food, and single mothers living on
government assistance – help readily transform “the obese” into folk devils. It could also mean that
discussions of the “obesity epidemic” could be used to blame the culture and practices of these
underprivileged minority groups – rather than their economic disadvantage or discrimination – for their
negative health outcomes. In other words, a “culture of fast food and sedentary lifestyle” could be
Convention