Part 2: Framing, language and communications
Strand 3: The Reality of a Whole Systems Approach
Video
Learning Objectives
After watching this section, you should be able to:
- Explain why framing and language choices are treated as a foundational concern requiring early consideration when implementing a whole systems approach
- Describe practical examples of language shifts used to reduce weight stigma and take a more compassionate approach
- Explain the distinction between “choices” and “options and opportunities” and why it matters for the food environment
Key Points
- Framing and communication set the tone for how partners work together, so time needs to be given early on to think about what to emphasise and what to leave unsaid, adapting language to different audiences
- Language is chosen to avoid weight stigma — for example, using “a person living with obesity” rather than “an obese person”, and adopting the term “healthy weight” instead of “obesity”
- Doncaster City Council’s compassionate approach case study is highlighted as valuing people as individuals rather than reducing them to a health issue
- Talking about child health and food (rather than obesity), and framing places positively — such as “priority neighbourhoods” rather than deprived areas — is described as opening up conversation rather than shutting it down
- Talking about “options and opportunities” rather than “choices” reflects the idea that people cannot make a healthy choice if they do not have access to a healthy option, which is especially relevant to the food environment
Further Reading
Add recommended readings or links for this segment.
Knowledge Check
Complete the questions below before moving on.
According to this section, what data was mapped against the location of fast food outlets to look for a correlation?
The correct answer is Food hygiene ratings, access to hot food takeaways, and National Child Measurement Programme data. This section describes plotting these data sets to see the relationship between areas with high values on these measures and the concentration of fast food outlets — an example of using existing data to build a practical, shareable picture (e.g. for colleagues such as planners) rather than relying on framing and language alone.
- False — transport data is not among the data sets described in this section.
- False — property values are not among the data sets described in this section.
- False — education data is not among the data sets described in this section.
- True