Greenhalgh Susan
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Soc Stud Sci. 2016 Aug;46(4):485-510. doi: 10.1177/0306312716655501.
Science and Technology Studies has seen a growing interest in the commercialization of science. In this article, I track the role of corporations in the construction of the obesity epidemic, deemed one of the major public health threats of the century. Focusing on China, a rising superpower in the midst of rampant, state-directed neoliberalization, I unravel the process, mechanisms, and broad effects of the corporate invention of an obesity epidemic. Largely hidden from view, Western firms were central actors at every stage in the creation, definition, and governmental management of obesity as a Chinese disease. Two industry-funded global health entities and the exploitation of personal ties enabled actors to nudge the development of obesity science and policy along lines beneficial to large firms, while obscuring the nudging. From Big Pharma to Big Food and Big Soda, transnational companies have been profiting from the 'epidemic of Chinese obesity', while doing little to effectively treat or prevent it. The China case suggests how obesity might have been constituted an 'epidemic threat' in other parts of the world and underscores the need for global frameworks to guide the study of neoliberal science and policymaking.
科学技术研究领域对科学商业化的兴趣与日俱增。在本文中，我追踪了企业在肥胖症流行构建过程中所扮演的角色，肥胖症被视为本世纪主要的公共卫生威胁之一。以中国为例，这是一个在国家主导的猖獗新自由主义化进程中崛起的超级大国，我剖析了企业制造肥胖症流行的过程、机制及其广泛影响。西方公司在很大程度上处于幕后，却是肥胖症作为一种中国疾病的创建、定义及政府管理各阶段的核心角色。两个由行业资助的全球健康实体以及对个人关系的利用，使得相关行为体能够推动肥胖症科学和政策朝着有利于大公司的方向发展，同时掩盖这种推动行为。从大型制药公司到大型食品公司和大型汽水公司，跨国公司一直在从“中国肥胖症流行”中获利，却几乎没有采取有效措施来治疗或预防它。中国的案例揭示了肥胖症在世界其他地区可能是如何被构建为一种“流行威胁”的，并强调了需要全球框架来指导对新自由主义科学和政策制定的研究。
