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      Thinking outside the laboratory box : the individualization, surveillance, and moralization of obesity within The Biggest Loser

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      ThinkingOutsidetheLaboratoryBox.pdf (408.7Kb)
      Date
      2010-06
      Author
      Matthews, Natasha Nicole
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
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      Abstract
      The purpose of this study is to better understand the ways in which scientific discourse contributes to the individualization and moralization of obesity, through reality television. Popular reality television programs emphasize the importance of lifestyle to health and wellness, often focusing on participant weight loss. Within this research, I describe the ways in which the obesity epidemic is approached in popular reality television, specifically in NBC’s The Biggest Loser, and identify how the discourse of obesity is tied to issues of individualization, surveillance, and morality. Specifically, I undertake a laboratory study of The Biggest Loser to illustrate how this methodology can be extended from the traditional laboratory into a space of science that has no formal walls. With a focus on the seventh season of The Biggest Loser, I argue that the program is based on a human experiment that illustrates the interconnectedness of science and society, while perpetuating individualized and moralized obesity discourse. By conducting a laboratory study of a popular television program, I offer a new way to address obesity discourse
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      Sociology
      Program
      Sociology
      Supervisor
      Poudrier, Jennifer
      Committee
      Biggs, Lesley; Thomas-Maclean, Roanne; Quinlan, Elizabeth
      Copyright Date
      June 2010
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/etd-07052010-120059
      Subject
      Surveillance
      The Biggest Loser
      Laboratory studies
      Individualization
      Moralization
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