The study of metaphor has moved from abstraction and poetics into the realms of cognitive science and cultural studies. Rather than being seen as purely figurative and secondary to literal meaning, investigation of metaphors reveals a close relationship to our processes of reasoning, a capacity to both reveal and cover, and a plasticity that forms within surrounding cultural values. I reviewed current metaphor theory, including its concerns and justifications, and designed a simple survey experiment through the Qualtrix webpage. The survey was distributed via the Amazon Mechanical TURK system. The experiment, in two different versions, briefly described obesity and then asked participants to describe their attitudes toward, and preferred solutions for, this emerging public health issue. The paragraphs differed only in the metaphor used to describe obesity. Based upon a metaphorical framing hypothesis, it was predicted that obesity as an "infectious epidemic" would bias readers towards societal causes and a preference for public policy changes, while obesity as "simple calorie math" would bias readers towards individualized causes, and less support for public policy changes.The hypotheses of the study were not supported; there was no significant difference in participant responses between frame conditions. Possible reasons for non-significant results include the survey format, unique aspects of obesity as a public health problem, and participants' level of media exposure to obesity.However, this study could be easily altered into various iterations to confirm or deny many aspects of brief metaphorical framing. Enduring social problems within public health defy simple categorizations and solutions, and so necessitate continual conversation and input from multiple perspectives. The way these large, abstract problems are presented, the frame around them, influences the interpretation individuals create when searching for solutions. When studied, these framing influences can become tools for greater understanding and more potent communication design. The importance of metaphors as framing devices, and more fundamentally as the basis of conceptual thought, has recently come into focus. Scholars have shown their necessity in concept interpretation and in the analysis of how Americans interpret problems in their society, and in the realm of public health. This paper will address the influence of metaphorical framing upon opinions about the causes of obesity, and public policy solutions to obesity. It will review the role of metaphors in concept formation, and how metaphors might affect citizens constructing opinions about problems in their society. Studies that have linked grounded, modal experiences with specific and measurable shifts in concepts are presented, as well as example studies in which simple metaphors influenced the opinions of readers.In order to further the study of obesity and metaphorical associations, this paper will highlight two metaphors used to frame obesity, and present a stud...