Piece of cake? A Q-study on public, private and non-governmental obesity frames

Abstract

Obesity has become an intractable policy controversy: a problem with a multiplicity of frames and highly contested causes, responsible actors and solutions. As a result, collaboration between different stakeholders is hampered. This study offers the obesity frames of 24 public, private and non-governmental policy actors from the Netherlands. The empirical findings, based on Q-methodology, reveal three obesity frames: ‘joint regulators, ‘freedom fighters’ and ‘united self-regulators’. An alternative ‘health facilitators’ frame is proposed to reach consensus among the three frames. By clarifying the role of health facilitators, the study contributes to a more constructive obesity debate and shows the value of Q-methodology for analyzing health related policy controversies.