Creating True Freedom in Food Choice in an Obesogenic Environment: A Common Good Approach to Ethical Decision Making

Abstract

The prevalence of people with overweight or obese (OW/OB) weight statuses has reached epic proportions in the United States. Freedom to choose the foods we eat without outside interference is highly valued and at the center of many ethical debates related to public health policies that target the OW/OB epidemic. This paper argues that the existing obesogenic environment within the United States significantly impedes our freedom in food choice (FFC) and contributes to the high level of adults and children with OW/OB weight statuses. Though the OW/OB epidemic has not been a cause social worker have championed, it is worthy of the profession's attention. These weight statuses impact the overall well-being of more than two-thirds of the country's population due to the increased risk for health and social complications. This paper explains how social work values and ethics obligate the profession to become involved in advocating for policy changes that correct the current obesogenic environment and create true FFC. The authors use the common good approach to ethical decision making to closely examine how three practices of the food and beverage industry--disparity between availability of healthy and unhealthy foods, marketing and pricing tactics, and food alterations--create barriers to FFC and contribute to sustaining the current obesogenic environment. This discussion is followed by suggested policy changes to regulate these practices in an effort to correct the current obesogenic environment and decrease the prevalence of OW/OB.