The browser you are using is not supported by this website. All versions of Internet Explorer are no longer supported, either by us or Microsoft (read more here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/windows/end-of-ie-support).

Please use a modern browser to fully experience our website, such as the newest versions of Edge, Chrome, Firefox or Safari etc.

A Legitimate or an Ilegitimate problem? : How School Nurses Establish a Logic of Distinctions among Children who are Overeweight or Suffer from Obesity

På svenska

Author

Summary, in English

Overweight and obesity among children has gained increased attention as one of the most unequally distributed health problems. This article draws on interviews with school nurses, who in their daily work handle this problem. Their responses articulate a discrepancy between the general view on overweight and obesity as a “disaster” for the afflicted children and the practice of turning "a blind eye” to specific cases. The aim is to examine how the school nurses in their dealing with the problem handle this discrepancy and make it logical. It is argued that a distinction between “legitimate” and “illegitimate” is apparent in the school nurses’ understanding of overweight and obesity. This distinction depends on how they, in moral terms, categorize foods and habits, children and parents.

Publishing year

2015

Language

English

Pages

25-41

Publication/Series

Ethnologia Europaea

Volume

45

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Open Library of Humanities

Topic

  • Ethnology

Keywords

  • overweight and obesity
  • children
  • school nurses
  • moral balancing
  • the morality of time

Status

Published

Project

  • The relationship between socio-economic determinants of ill-health and child obesity. A qualitative, cultural analytical study.
  • Medical humanities research node

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1604-3030