pdf Too Fat to Fight Obesity Biopolitics and 1 Popular

Joseph Burridge and Kevin McSorley - Taken together, the campaigning activity of Mission: Readiness and the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, bring into sharp relief a range of issues of interest to social scientists. They mobilise the contemporary politics of the body – including bio-political and governmental concerns – particularly the attention given to a so-called ‘obesity epidemic’ and its focus upon children. Moreover, because of the degree to which Mission: Readiness’ contributions were framed by, and addressed to, a perceived need to ensure that bodies of US children are not ‘Too Fat To Fight’, they are also pertinent to those interested in ongoing processes of the militarization of social life, and the multiple historic connections between food and war. This paper engages with these issues by interrogating the key ‘Too Fat To Fight’ report produced by Mission: Readiness (2010) as part of its campaign for legislative change.