Sociological Imagination and Child Obesity: A Critical Analysis

This essay delves into the concept of sociological imagination and its application to the issue of child obesity. It explores how individual perceptions are shaped by societal factors, examining the interplay between personal experiences and broader social contexts. The essay references the works of Mills, Willis, and others to define and illustrate the key dimensions of sociological imagination, including historical, cultural, structural, and critical perspectives. It analyzes how these dimensions influence the understanding of child obesity, considering how mass media, cultural norms, and individual viewpoints contribute to the overall perception of the issue. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of sociological imagination in understanding the relationship between individuals and society, particularly in the context of complex social issues like child obesity, highlighting how social perceptions interact with individual understanding to shape the views of the world.

Running head: SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND CHILD OBESITY
SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND CHILD OBESITY
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND CHILD OBESITY
The essay focuses on understanding the essential concepts connected with sociological
imagination in relation to the subject of child obesity. Sociological imagination refers to the
individual understanding of the society and the self. It is connected with the perception of the
society in regards to something and relating it to the perception of the same thing by an
individual. These concepts can interplay to create a wider understanding of the views of an
individual in regards to the society and the world and its essential relationship with the collective
perception of the society. The study will consider sociological imagination in the context of
childhood obesity in order to significantly analyze the aspects connected with the social and
individual perception of child obesity.
According to Mills (2000) sociology is to be focused towards finding the relationship
between the various social environmental factors and the individual. Thus, it is important to
consider the wider social implications of the perceptions of individuals. The book Sociological
Imagination provides a basis on which the relationship with the individual and social
perspectives on a certain matter can be essentially linked. The concept of sociological
imagination is based on the perception of various social phenomenon by the individual. The
individual often develops essential notions about a significant issue in regards to both how the
others are affected and how he/she is affected by the same. Hence, sociological notions are
developed on the basis of their historical or social connections with the individual which can
subsequently be connected to a group of individuals and ultimately to the society in general.
Willis (1996) proposed four dimensions of sociological imagination in his work The
Sociological Quest. The dimensions are historical, cultural, structural and critical. These are the
dimensions that greatly guide sociological connections between the individual and the society
(Willis 1996).

2SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND CHILD OBESITY
The dimensions can be well understood through the use of child obesity as a social
subject. The historical dimension in this context will be the relevance of child obesity in the
society in the recent years (Willis and Burns 2011). In recent history child obesity has been
shown as an alarming issue. The conception of childhood obesity among people are thus of much
more concern presently than it was before due to the historical factors affecting the conception of
child obesity among people. Thus, due to its historic significance child obesity is being perceived
negatively in society. Another dimension is structural dimension. In society there are essential
symbols that are used to denote a particular aspect (Burrell and Morgan 2017). The structural
aspect here concerns the mass media that is used to portray child obesity. Child obesity is
generally conceived bad as the mass media, government agencies and health authorities are
continuously promoting the ill effects of child obesity. Now people can develop a conception of
child obesity through essentially understanding the negative effects of obesity. Cultural
dimension refers to the different types of cultures to which men and women belong. This is
significant as in some cultures child obesity may be more acceptable than in other cultures. Thus,
due to the cultural inclination of a person child obesity might not be considered as a great
concern. The critical dimension is related more towards the individual conception of a social
aspect. People can have varied opinions about child obesity (Mehan 2016). They can be critical
about the same as in the case of child obesity. Hence the notion of the greater society in regards
to child obesity can be further scrutinized through essential critical insights of a person. Thus, on
the one hand child hood obesity can be conceptualized in regards to its negative impact as per the
society and on the other hand people can develop even more or less critical understanding of the
subject. This can greatly contribute towards the generation of the entre conception of child
obesity. Hence, it is important to understand that these dimensions guide the nature of perception

3SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND CHILD OBESITY
of reality among individuals and the society (Housley et al. 2014). Sociological imagination is
thus the essential relationship between the perception of an individual and the social factors that
interact with the same.
In conclusion, it can be said that the sociological perception in regards to child obesity is
much affected by the ways in which it is portrayed across the various media channels and
popular culture. In similar fashion social perceptions of reality often interact with individual
perceptions in order to develop essential relationship between the individual and the world.
Social imagination was found to be the governing factor when the individual’s relationship with
the society is being considered. It is essential to consider it as an important factor in establishing
sociological connections.

4SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION AND CHILD OBESITY
References
Burrell, G. and Morgan, G., 2017. Sociological paradigms and organisational analysis:
Elements of the sociology of corporate life. Routledge.
Housley, W., Procter, R., Edwards, A., Burnap, P., Williams, M., Sloan, L., Rana, O., Morgan,
J., Voss, A. and Greenhill, A., 2014. Big and broad social data and the sociological imagination:
A collaborative response. Big Data & Society, 1(2), p.2053951714545135.
Mehan, H., 2016. Engaging the sociological imagination. In Leaders in the Sociology of
Education (pp. 115-130). SensePublishers, Rotterdam.
Mills, C.W., 2000. The sociological imagination. Oxford University Press.
Willis, E. and Burns, E., 2011. The Empty Shops Project: Developing Rural Students’
Sociological Insight. Teaching Sociology, 39(1), pp.27-41.
Willis, E., 1996. The Sociological Quest: An introduction to the study of social life. Rutgers
University Press.