Weighing In

The Taste-Engineering Frame in Obesity Expert Discourse

Bibliographic Data

ID11022705
AuthorsSelena E Ortiz (0000-0002-8537-1913, At the time of the study, Selena E. Ortiz was a PhD candidate at the Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Frederick J. Zimmerman is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA. Franklin D. Gilliam Jr is with the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA.), Frederick J Zimmerman (0000-0002-4163-9893, At the time of the study, Selena E. Ortiz was a PhD candidate at the Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Frederick J. Zimmerman is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA. Franklin D. Gilliam Jr is with the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA.), Franklin D Gilliam (0000-0002-3735-1141, At the time of the study, Selena E. Ortiz was a PhD candidate at the Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and a Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. Frederick J. Zimmerman is with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, UCLA. Franklin D. Gilliam Jr is with the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA.)
Year2015
Volume105
Issue3
Pages554-559
Publication date2015-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2014.302273
PMID25602888
OpenAlexW2111284448
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited45

Objectives. We sought expert opinion on the problems with 2 dominant obesity-prevention discourse frames—personal responsibility and the environment—and examined alternative frames for understanding and addressing obesity. Methods. We conducted 60-minute, semistructured interviews with 15 US-based obesity experts. We manually coded and entered interview transcripts into software, generating themes and subthematic areas that captured the debate’s essence. Results. Although the environmental frame is the dominant model used in communications with the public and policymakers, several experts found that communicating key messages within this frame was difficult because of the enormity of the obesity problem. A subframe of the environmental frame—the taste-engineering frame—identifies food industry strategies to influence the overconsumption of certain foods and beverages. This emerging frame deconstructs the environmental frame so that causal attributes and responsible agents are more easily identifiable and proposed policies and public health interventions more salient. Conclusions. Expert interviews are an invaluable resource for understanding how experts use frames in discussing their work and in conversations with the public and policymakers. Future empirical studies testing the effectiveness of the taste-engineering frame on public opinion and support for structural-level health policies are needed

Economics · Environmental health · Frame (networking) · Frame analysis · Overconsumption · Political science · Public health · Public opinion · Public relations · Resource (disambiguation) · Biochemical Analysis and Sensing Techniques · Computer Science · Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling · Medicine · Nursing · Obesity and Health Practices · Psychology · Social Psychology

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