title: Mediation and the construction of contemporary understandings of health and lifestyle.
abstract: The practice of using media to promote the benefits of diet and exercise has been associated with the rise in prominence of a sense of personal obligation for one's own health. This article contributes to recent critiques of the emphasis being placed on individual responsibility for health. We argue that if health psychologists are to develop an adequately social understanding of our role in promoting health, then we must begin to examine the influence of our practices and agendas on public understandings. Extracts from research accounts are used to illustrate the pervasiveness of media health messages in everyday life and the prominence of a sense of individual responsibility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. dhdgetts@waikato.ac.nz
authors.forename: Darrin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hodgetts
authors.forename: Bruce
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bolam
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stephens
mesh_terms: D001294:Attitude to Health; D003146:Communications Media; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D012941:Social Responsibility