The research project "Health Justice and High Body Weight: On the Importance of Empirically-Informed Ethics for Health Policy Analyses" examines which theories of justice are suitable for ethically reflecting on current structures of health care and health promotion for heavyweight people. Derived from this, the research team, consisting of PD Solveig Lena Hansen, Dr. phil. (project leader), Imogen Weidinger M.Sc. and Leonie Renelt B.A., will produce concrete proposals on how those reflections can be transformed into concrete recommendations for action.

The research project is divided into three sub-areas. First, we will compare different theories of health equity (resource/good-oriented approaches, capability approach, well-being approaches, and relational egalitarianism approaches) to analyze to what extent they can be applied to health care, specifically using the example of high weight. Another aspect is interviews with 10 experts. This will provide information on which theories of health equity are known in practice and which obstacles the experts see for a theory-practice-transfer. Furthermore, experts will be asked about their understanding of responsibilities in the context of health promotion and health care, as well as health equity. The third level is a systematic analysis of international policies to prevent and reduce high body weight. It will be examined whether and to what extent theories of health equity already play a role in this context.

Based on the research results, the aim is to develop concrete proposals on what should be considered in the development of German health policies from a justice perspective.

Further information:

https://www.uni-bremen.de/institut-fuer-public-health-und-pflegeforschung/abteilungen-arbeitsgruppen/public-health-forschung/public-health-ethik-und-health-humanities