Obesity and the healthy living apparatus: discursive strategies and the struggle for power

In lieu of increased international attention on high rates of obesity in the Pacific Islands, this paper examines the discourse strategies employed in three international health and fitness documents that enable the international community to problematize and to govern the lifestyles of Pacific Islanders. I draw specifically upon Fairclough's [(2001). Language and power (2nd ed). Essex: Pearson Education Limited] tools of discourse analysis to help unearth a particular kind of 'healthy living' ideology that lies at the center of international public-health policy, targeting obesity. I also draw on Greene's [(1999). Malthusian worlds: US leadership and the governing of the population crisis. Boulder, CO: Westview Press] interpretation of the governing apparatus to help illuminate the work performed by discourse to (1) construct obesity as a public problem, (2) to convince others that it is a problem, and (3) to stabilize its status as a problem. The implications of this analysis lead us to consider the relationship between discourse and body practice in the context of a growing global health and fitness industry.