"Bariatric surgery is commonly viewed as a 'low-effort' means of losing weight, and individuals who opt for this surgery are often perceived to be 'cheating.'"

Anthropol Med. 2017 Apr;24(1):96-110. doi: 10.1080/13648470.2016.1249339. Epub 2017 Feb 8.

Not 'Taking the Easy Way Out': Reframing Bariatric Surgery from Low-effort Weight Loss to Hard Work.

Trainer S1, Brewis A2, Wutich A2.

Author information

1

a MC-ASU Obesity Solutions Initiative , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA.

2

b The School of Human Evolution and Social Change , Arizona State University , Tempe , AZ , USA.

Abstract

Cultural notions equating greater morality and virtue with hard work and productive output are deeply embedded in American value systems. This is exemplified in how people understand and execute personal body projects, including efforts to become slim. Bariatric surgery is commonly viewed as a 'low-effort' means of losing weight, and individuals who opt for this surgery are often perceived to be 'cheating.' This extended ethnographic study within one bariatric program in the Southwestern United States shows how patients conscientiously perform this productivity. By prioritizing discourses that focus on their own hard work and the inherent value and necessity of their surgery, patients and practitioners alike contest the dominant public views of surgically-induced weight loss.