Lifestyle, responsibility and justice

Feiring, Eli

doi:10.1136/jme.2006.019067

Cited by 77 publications

(106 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

104

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Even if it could be shown that some types of obesity are more subject to will, there are still relevant arguments against differencing access to health care according to responsibility (Cappelen and Nordheim 2005;Feiring 2008). As Mackenzie points out (2011), the obesity category is heavily embedded in social and cultural conceptions.…”

Section: Carlmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Encompassing Ethics of Bariatric Surgery

Hofmann

2010

The American Journal of Bioethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Carlmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Encompassing Ethics of Bariatric Surgery

Hofmann

2010

The American Journal of Bioethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…37,38 This understanding, albeit in a slightly different and more moderate form, also resonates with contributions to the debate on lifestyle-related illness that places an emphasis on people's willingness to lead a healthy life, even if they do not succeed. 39, 40 As mentioned above, the conceptual tool aiding those who argue for the exclusion of people with 'high-risk' lifestyles from (some) public health care is risk stratification. Risk stratification is highly relevant to our understanding of solidarity because people's recognition of similarity with others in a relevant respect -which is an important condition for their willingness to carry costs for others according to our definition -can also be based on a common risk that is shared.…”

Section: Solidarity Lifestyle-related Diseases and Individual Responmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lifestyle-related diseases and individual responsibility through the prism of solidarity

Buyx

Prainsack

2012

Clinical Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The concept of lifestyle-related diseases and individual responsibility for health has played an important role in debates on the fair allocation of increasingly scarce health-care resources. In this article, we examine this discussion through the prism of solidarity. Based on an understanding of solidarity as shared practices reflecting a collective commitment to carry 'costs' (financial, social, emotional or otherwise) to assist others, we analyse frequent arguments in the debate and, in particular, the tool of risk-stratification. We then offer a solidarity-based approach to understanding risk in the context of lifestyle-related diseases, and draw a number of conclusions on how health policy informed by solidarity should approach priority setting in health care.

show abstract

“…The question of responsibility reflects a concept of justice, in which health inequality that follows from free individual choices is less problematic than inequality that follows from social or random causes [24]. Should a problem that could be solved by the individual deciding to eat less and exercise more be solved by a publicly funded surgical operation?…”

Section: Obesity and Individual Responsibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Ethical Issues of Obesity Surgery—a Health Technology Assessment

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

New surgical technologies may challenge societal values, and their adoption may lead to ethical challenges. Despite proven cost-effectiveness, obesity (bariatric) surgery and its public funding have been questioned on ethical arguments relating to, for example, the self-inflicted or non-disease nature of obesity. Our aim was to analyze the ethical issues relevant to bariatric surgery. A comprehensive health technology assessment was conducted on bariatric surgery for morbid obesity using the EUnetHTA method, including a fully integrated ethical analysis. The ethical arguments suggesting that obesity should not be surgically treated because it is self-inflicted were rejected. Medicalization of obesity may have both positive and negative effects that impact the various stakeholders differently, thus being difficult to balance. Informing bariatric surgery patients and actively supporting their autonomy is exceptionally important, as the benefits and harms of both obesity and bariatric surgery are complex, and the outcome depends on how well the patient understands and adheres to the life-long changes in eating habits required. Justice considerations are important in organizing surgical treatment of obesity, as the obese are discriminated against in many ways and obesity is more common in socioeconomically disadvantaged populations who might have problems of access to treatments. Obesity should be treated like other diseases in health care, and obesity surgery rationed like other cost-effective treatments. Positive actions to ensure patient autonomy and just access to surgical treatments may be warranted.

show abstract

Lifestyle, responsibility and justice

Abstract: Both prevention and treatment of obesity are necessary means to reduce risk of severe disease Law, ethics and medicine

Cited by 77 publications

References 30 publications

The Encompassing Ethics of Bariatric Surgery

The Encompassing Ethics of Bariatric Surgery

Lifestyle-related diseases and individual responsibility through the prism of solidarity

Ethical Issues of Obesity Surgery—a Health Technology Assessment

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About