[Obesity prevention between predisposition and personal responsibility. A social ethics approach]

One of the greatest challenges our health care system has recently been faced, namely obesity, a matter which also raises questions of social ethics. Including genetic predispositions as well as environmental and behavioral factors, the etiology of extreme overweight is complex and this which predetermines multiple responsibilities in prevention. Against the background of our knowledge about genetics the particular problem of individual responsibility must be reconsidered. Prevention aims at changing and then sustaining specific patterns of behavior and thus addresses the individual acting as an autonomous, responsible person. For this purpose the preconditions of autonomy and individual responsibility must be examined and formulated. On the one hand, the capacities of the individual must not be overstrained but, and on the other, he or she should be able to act autonomously within the scope of his or her capabilities. Because of this, the enhancement of individual capabilities can be set as a leading criterion of the ethical considerations on strategies of prevention, which may help to put such a concept of individual responsibility into practice.