The media’s influence on the perception of obesity
A new study has examined how obesity is portrayed in the media and its subsequent effect on people’s support for different obesity related issues. Researchers at UCLA and Stanford exposed participants to different news articles that portrayed obesity in different lights, and then explored any subsequent changes in people’s attitudes to obesity. The different viewpoints on obesity in the news articles were categorised into four frames. The first was ‘Fat Rights’, which emphasised the idea of body positivity and discrimination against fatter people was unjust. The second was ‘Health at Every Size’, describing the fact that a person could be both fit and fat, and that factors other than diet and physical activity impacted more on an individual’s weight. The third was the ‘Public Health Crisis’ frame, which described obesity as a crisis that needed government intervention. The last frame, ‘Personal Responsibility’ stated that being fat was entirely due to life choices made by individuals.
The authors then showed the participants images of obese people and found that exposure to the different types of frame greatly impacted people’s views of obesity. It was even possible that some media coverage can worsen anti-fat prejudice. This, coupled with the idea that weight-based stigma can negatively affect healthcare, is particularly worrisome. The authors emphasised that anti-fat stigma leads to poorer treatment efficacy, and communities around the world should focus on creating a culture of empathy and social justice, rather than one of discrimination, calling on media outlets to lead this.
To learn more about obesity, its prevention, and its treatment please look at CCH’s Postgraduate Academic Courses in Obesity Care, and CPD Short Courses in topics such as childhood obesity and behaviour change, designed to up-skill health professionals in this vitally important, and often overlooked, area of care.
