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Assessing Information on Public Health Law Best Practices for Obesity Prevention and Control

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Peter D. Jacobson ,
Susan C. Kim  and
Susan R. Tortolero
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Extract

In 2008, Representative John Read of Mississippi recently co-sponsored state legislation that would ban restaurants from serving obese customers. He later admitted that the bill was a publicity stunt,meant to “shed a little light on the number one problem in Mississippi.” Although controversial, Read’s bill exemplifies both the current perception of obesity as a national public health problem and the general sentiment underlying the types of interventions that are being considered to address this issue. The proposed legislation also demonstrates how policymakers can use or, in this case misuse, information about obesity to generate significant discussion on an issue along with ill-conceived legal interventions.

Information sharing and the methods used to share best practices are components of the fourth core element of public health legal preparedness.

Type
JLME Supplement
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 37 , Issue S1 , Summer 2009 , pp. 55 - 61
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2009

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