Obesity, Health Disparities, and Prevention Paradigms: Hard Questions and Hard Choices

In public health, because of our commitment to advocacy, there is always the danger of becoming a believer — becoming so convinced about the issues one is pursuing that it becomes difficult to consider new information objectively. Although a degree of subjectivity is inherent in all scientific inquiry, one who believes uncritically risks missing opportunities to progress based on new insights, or, worse, one may introduce bias into inquiry — selectively evaluating data or studying the question in a way that favors a certain answer. I find myself increasingly preoccupied with these considerations as my work on obesity and minority health takes me into policy arenas where I must sometimes advocate for and defend a particular position. While issues of objectivity are relevant to public health generally, I find them particularly pertinent to obesity, health disparities, and prevention because — for different reasons — all three of these topics can be polarizing and politically charged.