The Sweetness of Care: Biographies, Bodies and Place

We begin with this vignette to illustrate how sweetness intersects bodies, place and care at a time when Australia is running its largest obesity prevention program – OPAL (Obesity Prevention and Lifestyle). We conducted ethnographic research over twenty-three months with socially disadvantaged families in Adelaide, South Australia (August 2012 – July 2014). Our aim was to explore how families in this community respond to, negotiate and/or resist ‘healthy lifestyle’ messages when healthy living guidelines may present a ‘disconnect’ with the adversities of everyday life (Lindsay 2010). Health promotion initiatives urge this population to care for their own bodies and those of their families through a range of social marketing messages, including reducing sugar intake.