NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
4.1. Introduction
The role of the environment in the development and management of obesity cannot be
understated. Given that the environment is such a major contributor to obesity, it begs the
question why more research has not been conducted into its influence (Brownell, 2002), but
also highlights the need for enquiry. Brownell (2002) argues that there is a clear demand for
research examining the environment and its effect on obesity, as “the cause lies in the
environment and so must the solution” (p. 437). The current environment has been described
as ‘toxic’ and ‘obesogenic’ as advances in technology have made life easier, discouraging
physical activity and promoting unhealthy food consumption (e.g., Marks et al., 2006;
Wadden et al., 2002). Human social environments are also of critical importance as attitudes
and interactions are determined by the context and social milieu in which an individual is
educated (Barnett & Casper, 2001). If implicit attitudes reflect those which have been
acquired from environmental messages and explicit those which are internalised and
endorsed as personal beliefs (Devine, 1989; Karpinski & Hilton, 2001), then gaining an
understanding of why implicit and explicit anti-fat attitudes are rife within today’s society as
demonstrated in study 1, is warranted.
Fat stigmatisation has been argued to develop as a result of anti-fat attitudes and cultural
standards that associate body fat with slothfulness and gluttony, in addition to beliefs about
the controllable nature of obesity (Crandall, 1994). Unlike the stigmatisation of other societal
issues, such as racism which has decreased substantially (Bobo, 2001), there appears to be no
indication that fat stigmatisation will follow a similar trend, given the findings of study 1 and
other research which shows an increase in negative obesity perceptions from previous reports
(e.g., Latner & Stunkard, 2003; McClure, Puhl, & Heuer, 2011). It has been suggested that
the media plays an instrumental role in the development of anti-fat attitudes, as well as
114
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
providing the impetus for individuals to engage in fat stigmatisation through shaping social
consensus, where deviation from social norms and beliefs about the controllability of obesity
provide the foundations for the occurrence of stigmatising behaviour (Fouts & Burggraf,
1999; Thompson, Herbozo, Himes, & Yamamiya, 2005). Alongside the increasing
prevalence of obesity, is the heightened awareness of the condition, for example, Saguy and
Almling (2008) reported a gradual increase in the number of scientific and news articles
reporting on obesity between 1980 and 2005. This increase in media attention and the
reported rise in obesity prevalence have been likened to factors that contribute to a ‘moral
panic’, which Campos, Saguy, Ernsberger, Oliver, and Gaesser (2006) suggest frame obesity
as an ‘impending disaster’ and consequently raise public concern. The media is a potent force
that when used incorrectly can have detrimental consequences and lead to incorrect beliefs
and limited public knowledge (Kleck, 1996; Roberts & Doobs, 1990). Stigmatisation in the
media has been reported previously regarding other issues, such as mental illness (e.g.,
Brown & Bradley, 2002; Ritterfield & Jin, 2005), thus this study sought to uncover whether
media content is similarly stigmatising towards obesity.
The media acts as a vehicle for socialisation and internalisation of societal messages, and the
growth of mass communication has fuelled fear and concern over the powerful nature of the
media to project messages to society and by doing so influence policymakers (McCombs &
Shaw, 1972; Shanahan & Morgan, 1999). Gerbner (1958) refers to communication as
‘interaction through messages’ that contributes to the creation and maintenance of culture. It
is through the media that knowledge and information are acquired and therefore it represents
an authoritative tool with the potential to influence others, particularly considering the
number of individuals who are exposed to media sources daily (www.mediauk.com).
Cultivation Theory (Gerbner & Gross, 1976) proposes that those who are exposed to the most
115
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
media sources are the most likely to internalise and echo the attitudes and behaviours
portrayed, in addition to perceiving that what is depicted in the media is a reflection of ‘social
reality’. Gerbner (1958) suggests that the media play an important role in society by
maintaining social control, and through collective terms of discourse and assumptions, a
consensus is developed.
Negative portrayals of obesity have increased in newspaper articles, for example one national
UK newspaper article of a boy aged 12, weighing 20 stones reports on the torment
experienced as a consequence of bullies’ taunts. For retaliating to bullying the boy had been
expelled twice, and he had attended five schools in five years. His most recent suspension
was for lashing out after bullies had called him a “whale and a fat b******” (Parker, 2007, p.
29). Thus, newspaper portrayals report on the clearly unpleasant experiences that the obese
population may face as a result of being overweight, which can for some individuals
evidently have serious consequences for other spheres of life such as education.
Perceptions of obesity may be formed as a result of the content of obesity related newspaper
articles. Parker (2007) also reports that the child “would think nothing of stuffing down a loaf
of bread for breakfast. At school lunch he would always go back for seconds and thirds. He
would then go to the kebab shop that did five chicken portions and chips for £1 – washed
down with as much coke as he could get his hands on” (p. 29). The portrayal dehumanises
and pathologises the boy, presenting a picture of a child with a lack of self control, through
the terms used such as “stuffing” creating an image that may be deemed grotesque and animal
like. Another article adopts a similar stance with the title “the fattest boy in the world weighs
16st aged 7” before posing the question “think British kids are getting a bit porky? Then take
a look at this Russian tank” (Iggulden, 2007, pp. 32-33) by using the words “porky” and
116
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
“Russian tank”. This report also makes comparisons between the boy’s weight and a baby
elephant, which is extremely concerning given the availability of newspapers for the entire
nation, with their potential to then influence societal perceptions of obesity.
Heuer et al. (2011) purport that the mass media provides a particularly compelling example
of the acceptability of stigmatising body shapes and sizes, which is evident in various forms
of popular media (Puhl & Heuer, 2009). News stories are particularly influential and
insidious, given that their content is readily available through various sources and rarely
challenged (Heuer et al., 2011). The media is argued to have an effect on people of differing
characteristics and children and young people are the most susceptible to media messages as
they are more likely to perceive the images and content viewed on television and in forms of
the media as a reflection of reality and not artificial (Van Ezra, 1990). Research has
demonstrated that children associated positive traits with thin and average body sizes and
negative traits with obese body sizes (Kirkpatrick & Sanders, 1978; Tiggemann & WilsonBarrett, 1998). Given findings such as these, it is not surprising that children report body
image concerns, a desire to be thin and go to extreme lengths to avoid obesity (Collins, 1991;
Gilbert, 1998).
A plethora of research (e.g., Geier et al., 2003; O’Brien et al., 2010; Stice & Shaw, 1994;
Tan, 1979) has emerged examining appearance and how perceptions of appearance affect
behaviour and attitudes. Of importance is why certain perceptions develop and therefore
factors that influence attitude formation. Previous research (e.g., Cramer & Steinwert, 1998)
examining perceptions of self appearance and the appearance of others has suggested that
attitudes reflect a belief that thin is positive and fat is negative. Himes and Thompson (2007)
suggest that the thin ideal is promoted in two ways: the ideals that are promoted to the public
117
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
to achieve are of being successful and thin, and this thin idealisation is encouraged further
through the stigmatisation of the overweight and obese.
Tischner and Malson (2008) suggest that although there is an appreciation of the increasing
prevalence of obesity in the UK, many of these reports are presented in a “negative tone and
point towards the individual as the target of remedial action” (p. 260). The majority of
explanations for the causes of overweight and obesity refer to an energy intake versus energy
expenditure imbalance, which may result from various lifestyle choices, placing a high
emphasis on eating less and moving more (Tischner & Malson, 2008). Thus the diet industry
is highly lucrative despite the low success rate of diets in the long term (Foster & Kendall,
1994). Simply focusing attention on weight however is potentially harmful (Orbach, 2006)
and is based on flawed assumptions, that dieting is effective, that individuals can change their
weight at will and that dieting improves health as a result of a misleading message that
thinness equals health and fatness causes disease (Cogan & Ernsberger, 1999). The
overriding message the media has disseminated to the public therefore is that overweight and
obesity is within one’s control and that the degree of fatness can be altered. Myers and Rosen
(1999) suggest that the degree to which individuals perceive obesity as controllable is
associated with anti-fat attitudes and therefore media portrayal may be a key source that
influences societal perceptions of obesity.
It should also be noted that there is often an overlap in reporting between scientific
investigations and media release (Saguy & Almling, 2008). However, as Saguy and Almling
(2008) report, the media are selective with their portrayal of the condition, where there is a
tendency to report the most alarming findings and those which blame the individual. Saguy
118
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
and Almling suggest that news articles often dramatise the findings of scientific enquiry and
place greater emphasis on those reports that obesity is controllable.
The mass media has previously received criticism regarding the disproportionate amounts of
negative portrayals that emphasise stereotypical images of minority groups and women
(Greenberg & Brand, 1994; Harris, 1999). For example, Dasgupta and Greenwald (2001)
suggest that media portrayal regarding race differs for difference races, where race is not
mentioned in the portrayal of members from the dominant group who are disliked (e.g., a
white criminal), whereas news stories about black criminals often identify the individual’s
racial background, therefore reinforcing stigma. It has been suggested that the mass media is
at least partly responsible for the development and maintenance of fat stigmatisation which
has become widespread (Latner et al., 2007). Whilst cultural standards and thin idealisation
evident in the media has not yet been shown to have a direct causal relationship with anti-fat
attitudes, an effect on self perception is apparent (Groesz et al., 2002) and based on the
message that one should strive to achieve thinness, positive rewards are associated with being
thin and the link between thinness, health and beauty, it would be reasonable to suggest that
this contributes to the stigmatisation of obesity. The majority of research examining obesity
in the mass media has focused on entertainment, examining portrayals in magazines and on
television (e.g., Greenberg et al., 2003; Geier et al., 2003; Latner et al., 2007). As such, there
appears to be a lack of research examining the portrayal of obesity in newspaper articles,
which appears warranted given that 80.4% of British adults read regional papers and 61%
read national newspapers (www.newspapersoc.org.uk).
One study that has examined newspaper portrayal was conducted by Hilbert and Reid (2009)
who studied the content of obesity in daily German newspapers, reporting that both national
119
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
and local newspapers provided more comprehensive and less incorrect information than
tabloid newspapers. It was also reported that tabloid newspapers used personalised
descriptive information and extreme features, and that the national newspaper coverage
offered more information relating to internal attributions of obesity and controllable causes.
Another study that has examined obesity portrayal in the media comes from Sandberg (2007)
who sampled four Swedish newspapers between the years 1997 and 2001. Sandberg reported
that when newspapers placed emphasis on appearance, there was an underestimation of the
seriousness of the condition, the portrayal that obesity was predominantly a female problem,
and there was evidence of obesity stigmatisation.
Lawrence (2004) demonstrated that the number of articles appearing on page 1 of the New
York Times relating to obesity increased between the years 1985 and 2003, with a greater
number of articles reporting on behavioural (e.g., lack of exercise) and systematic (e.g., food
portion sizes) causes of obesity compared with biological causes (e.g., genetic
predisposition). Very recently, Heuer et al. (2011) examined the types of images used to
accompany online news stories about obesity, reporting that of 441 individuals pictured in
news photographs 65% of images were of an obese or overweight person and 27% of a nonoverweight person (the status of individuals in the remaining pictures could not be
determined). A noteworthy finding of this study was that 72% of the obese or overweight
images depicted that person in a stigmatising manner. For instance, the overweight and obese
were more likely to have their heads cut out of images, be pictured from the side or rear,
pictured eating or drinking, be pictured wearing inappropriately fitting clothes (e.g., a
distinctly tight shirt), or be pictured showing only their abdomen or lower bodies (e.g., bare
stomach) than non-overweight individuals. The overweight and obese were also less likely
120
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
than non-overweight individuals to be pictured fully clothed, wearing professional clothing,
or exercising.
The only other study that has analysed newspaper portrayal of obesity examined the tone of
media coverage and the characterisation of obesity and attitudes towards Government obesity
interventions in major newspapers from the USA, UK and Canada. Ries, Rachul and
Caulfield (2010) identified that obesity is reported as a lifestyle issue and that Government,
industry and individuals all have a role to play in addressing the epidemic. The five studies
discussed above (Heuer et al., 2011; Hilbert & Ried, 2009; Lawrence, 2004; Ries et al., 2010;
Sandberg, 2007) appear to be the only attempts to examine the portrayal of obesity in
newspapers, thus greater research attention is required, as well as an appreciation of UK
newspaper portrayals of obesity which until very recently (Ries et al., 2010) had not been
examined. Moreover, whilst this research offers an initial contribution, this study merges data
from the USA and Canada, thus their data is unrepresentative of the UK per se.
With the limited examination of obesity portrayal in the media and in particular newspaper,
the need to explore is apparent given that newspaper exposure is a daily occurrence for a high
proportion of the UK population and the potential influence media sources have on the
attitudes and beliefs that individuals develop (Dowler, 2002). Furthermore, the majority of
research examining obesity portrayal in the media has been conducted in the USA, therefore
research outside the USA is warranted given the global nature of obesity (Ata & Thompson,
2010) and the increasing reports of anti-fat attitudes in other countries (e.g., Jochemsen-Van
Der Leeur et al., 2011; Tailor & Ogden, 2009).
121
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
The Attribution Theory (Weiner et al., 1995) has been employed to explain the deleterious
effects on stigmatising attitudes of overemphasising personal causes for obesity. Previous
research (e.g., Puhl et al., 2005) suggests that obesity perceptions are influenced by internal
and external attributions of the causes of the condition. Stigmatisation and anti-fat attitudes
are likely to be greater when internal, controllable factors (e.g., poor diet, lack of exercise)
are attributed as the causes of obesity, whereas those who attribute obesity causes to internal,
uncontrollable factors (e.g., genetics) are likely to exhibit less stigmatisation and anti-fat
attitudes (e.g., Crandall, 1994; Hilbert et al., 2008; Puhl & Brownell, 2005). Recent research
(e.g., Bonfiglioli et al., 2007) has also reported that obesity is framed in the media more
frequently as a condition that is within one’s control, and its causes and solutions are
presented on an intrapersonal level (e.g., consuming a healthy diet, engaging in physical
activity) rather than a societal level (e.g., changes within the advertising and food industry).
Heijnders and Van Der Meij (2006) suggest caution should be taken when overemphasising
solutions directed at an intrapersonal level, as this may lead to the internalisation of stigma,
which Nyblade, Pande, Mathur et al. (2003) reported may result in the internalisation of guilt
and blame for the condition and self isolation by the obese.
The aim of this research was examine how obesity is portrayed in UK national newspapers.
This research was intended to answer the following questions:
1. Is there evidence of anti-fat attitudes and fat stigmatisation in UK national newspaper
portrayals consistent with the findings of study 1?
2. Do tabloid and broadsheet newspapers portray obesity differently, given that tabloid
newspapers are traditionally considered sensationalist providing entertainment news
whilst broadsheets tend to report on political, economic and educational news
(McRobbie & Thornton, 1995; Newton, 1999)?
122
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
3. Are the core values of the Protestant Ethic evident in newspaper portrayal of obesity,
given that previous research (e.g., Crandall, 1994; Hoverd & Sibley, 2007) has
suggested that Protestant Ethic beliefs are related to anti-fat attitudes?
4. Are causes and solutions for obesity presented on an intrapersonal or a societal level?
Although hypotheses are not purported in qualitative research, it was expected that the antifat attitudes observed in study 1 and obesity stigmatisation would be evident in newspaper
portrayal and that articles would offer controllable factors as the cause of obesity more
frequently than uncontrollable factors.
4.2 Method
4.2.1 Sample
A purposive sample of 312 (weekday: n = 208; weekend: n= 104) editions from six
newspapers published between July 2008 and July 2009 collected for analysis. Four weekday
and two weekend newspapers were sampled weekly. Weekend newspapers were always
sampled on a Sunday, whilst the day that weekday newspapers were sampled changed every
week (See Appendix 4.1). The analysed sample comprised two weekday broadsheet and
tabloid newspapers and one weekend broadsheet and tabloid newspaper with the highest
readership according to the figures of distribution (www.mediauk.com). Thus, on the basis of
their distribution in 2008 (www.mediauk.com), the weekday newspapers sampled for
analysis were The Sun (7.8m), Daily Mail (4.8m), The Daily Telegraph (1.8m) and The
Times (1.8m) and the weekend newspapers sampled were The News of the World (7.8m) and
the Sunday Times (3.1m).
123
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
4.2.2 Data Analysis
All text (titles, article main text, adverts, letters) that was related to overweight and obesity
was analysed for underlying themes and patterns, thus content analysis was employed. Data
from all newspapers was analysed as a whole (broadsheet and tabloid articles together) and
then separately so that comparisons can be made. Specifically, this research employed
conventional and summative content analysis, where coding categories were derived directly
from the text and key themes were counted and compared between newspaper types (Hsieh &
Shannon, 2005). Content analysis has previously been defined in diverse ways, whilst a
consistent thread refers to a systematic technique to handle message content, observed
behaviour and to comprehend communication (Budd, Thorp, & Donohew, 1967). It is the
comprehension of communication that underpins the analysis used in this study. To construct
a hierarchical model of the data, initial analysis involved assigning labels to sentences to
produce raw data themes. These raw data themes were then grouped into categories
representing 1st order themes by analysing the content to identify patterns that emerged in the
data, before this process was repeated twice to form 2nd order themes and general dimensions
(see Figure 4.3).
To ensure trustworthiness of analysis, three researchers analysed 10% of the data from each
newspaper (number of articles: The Times = 4; The Sunday Times; 5; The Sun = 11; Daily
Mail = 9; Daily Telegraph = 4; News of the World = 9) to form a triangular consensus on the
themes identified. The data were independently analysed to reduce the potential of inter-rater
effects on the reliability of the analysis (Tomlinson & Wright, 2004; Weigle, 1998). Themes
that were identified by only one or two of the researchers were discussed to confirm whether
the themes were evident in the data, before a final agreement was reached on labels assigned
to the data and themes. On completion of the triangular consensus, the primary researcher
124
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
reviewed all data to ensure that remainder were in line with the final analysis produced by the
triangular consensus. Two of the researchers then discussed and agreed on the order and
relatedness of themes to construct the hierarchical model (see Figure 4.3).
This research employed a bottom up approach known as inductive reasoning to examine the
portrayal of overweight and obesity thus themes emerged from the data themselves. This is
because there were no specific patterns or categories identified prior to sampling or analysing
the data, therefore all information from related portrayals was included. Thus, there was no
existing framework used to examine meanings and patterns that were evident in the data.
4.3 Results
4.3.1 Triangular Consensus
An initial consensus from the independent analysis revealed that 34% of themes were
identified by all three reviewers, 55% identified by two reviewers and 11% by one reviewer
(see Appendix 4.2). On discussion of labels assigned to the data by one or two of the analysts,
a final consensus of 95% was agreed.
4.3.2 Overview of Themes
Figure 4.3 illustrates 1st and 2nd order themes and general dimensions for both types of
newspaper and weekday and weekend editions combined. In total there were 349 articles
included in the analysis of which there were 84 from the broadsheet newspapers and 264
from the tabloid newspapers, which clearly indicates that the tabloid newspapers had a
greater interest in obesity over the data collection period. To identify the coverage that
broadsheet and tabloid newspapers gave to each of the 2nd order themes, the amount of times
reference was made to these was summed. There were 283 regarding interventions for obesity
125
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
(broadsheet = 64, tabloid = 219), 189 references made to factors under personal control
(broadsheet = 52, tabloid = 137), 157 references to the effects of obesity (broadsheet = 31,
tabloid = 126), 74 regarding perceptions of obesity (broadsheet = 14, tabloid = 60) and 51
references to the prevalence of obesity (broadsheet = 20, tabloid = 31). The large difference
observed between broadsheet and tabloid newspapers in terms of frequency of reference to
the 2nd order themes is reflected in the greater amount of newspaper articles in tabloid (76%)
than broadsheet newspapers (24%). Interestingly, the most frequently referenced 2nd order
themes for both broadsheets and tabloid newspapers were interventions followed by personal
control.
126
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Figure 4.3: Content analysis of newspaper portrayal
1st Order Themes
2nd Order Themes
General Dimensions
Consumption
Too little exercise
Personal Control
Responsibility
Lifestyle Choices
Interventions
Interventions
Weight loss/improve body shape
Harmful effects on life
Weight gain concerns
Psychosocial Effects
of Obesity
External pressures
Fat jokes/stigmatisation/discrimination
Terminology
Identifying obesity
Perceptions of
Obesity
Association with social deviances
Prevalence
Morbidity/mortality
Prevalence
Genetics
127
Effects of Obesity
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
4.4 Discussion
The aim of this research was examine how obesity is portrayed in UK national newspapers.
This research was intended to answer the following questions:
This research was intended to answer the following questions:
1. Is there evidence of anti-fat attitudes and fat stigmatisation in UK national newspaper
portrayals consistent with the findings of study 1?
2. Do tabloid and broadsheet newspapers portray obesity differently, given that tabloid
newspapers are traditionally considered sensationalist providing entertainment news
whilst broadsheets tend to report on political, economic and educational news
(McRobbie & Thornton, 1995; Newton, 1999)?
3. Are the core values of the Protestant Ethic evident in newspaper portrayal of obesity,
given that previous research (e.g., Crandall, 1994; Hoverd & Sibley, 2007) has
suggested that Protestant Ethic beliefs are related to anti-fat attitudes?
4. Are causes and solutions for obesity presented on an intrapersonal or a societal level?
Although hypotheses are not purported in qualitative research, it was expected that the antifat attitudes observed in study 1 and obesity stigmatisation would be evident in newspaper
portrayal and that articles would offer controllable factors as the cause of obesity more
frequently than uncontrollable factors.
4.4.1 Lifestyle Choices
The general dimension of Lifestyle Choices is comprised of the two second order themes of
Personal Control encompassing three first order themes and Interventions with two first
order themes (Figure 4.3). The typical information presented in newspaper articles relating to
Personal Control referred to taking responsibility for one’s weight and the energy balance of
128
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
intake versus expenditure, for example in The Times, “people who eat too much and take too
little exercise” (Elliot, Riddoll, & Coates, 2008, p. 1). Information relating to the second
order theme Interventions referred to strategies and cures for obesity or to lose weight and
improve one’s body shape, for example in The Times, the Government announcement that
the overweight will receive financial incentives to lose weight (Bee, 2009).
4.4.1.1 Personal Control
Both broadsheet and tabloid newspapers place substantially more emphasis on controllable
influences of obesity, with the focus on the effects of high energy intake and low energy
expenditure. These articles suggest that obesity is a result of life choices and taking
responsibility for those choices that determines whether someone becomes overweight or
obese. This emphasis on energy intake and energy expenditure reflects the greater attention
newspapers give to solutions on a personal level that are within an individuals’ control (e.g.,
taking more physical activity) than solutions at a higher level (e.g., Government initiatives).
Thus, the findings support previous research examining media portrayal of obesity (e.g.,
Bonfiglioli et al., 2007; Rich, 2011; Saguy & Almling, 2008) that suggest that the media
frames obesity more frequently as a problem that arises due to a lack of personal
responsibility, and portrays the causes of and solutions for obesity on a personal level (e.g.,
consuming a healthy diet) instead of a societal level (e.g., changes mage by the food
industry).
These findings also support the only other study that has examined UK newspaper portrayal
of obesity which reported that obesity was framed as a lifestyle problem (Ries et al., 2010).
However, the present study findings dispute those reported by Ries et al. (2010) that obesity
is presented in newspapers as a societal problem that needs to be addressed by the
129
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Government, industry and society. Instead, the newspapers in the present study suggest that
obesity is a problem for the individual and that responsibility and blame lie with those who
become overweight and obese, with measures to combat excess fatness discussed at an
intrapersonal level relating to the 1st order themes consumption and too little exercise. For
example in the Daily Mail, “don’t eat between meals, leave out food that’s obviously full of
fat and sugar and get half an hour’s walking exercise a day. That’s all you need to do”
(MacRae, 2009, p. 11). Similarly, articles about childhood obesity tended to blame significant
others and their choices such as the upbringing of the child, supporting previous research
(e.g., Saguy & Almling, 2008). For example an article in The Sun about an obese girl reports
“Georgia’s mother says that she is to blame and that when her husband died they would
comfort eat together” (Hendry, 2008, p. 4). Thus in relation to research question 4, there is
evidence to suggest that newspaper portrayals present the causes of and solutions for obesity
on an intrapersonal level. By overemphasising the intrapersonal nature of solutions,
newspaper portrayals of obesity may have detrimental consequences (Heijnders & Van Der
Meij, 2006), for example, leading to the internalisation of guilt and blame for the condition
(Nyblade et al., 2003).
These findings are also important in the light of findings from previous research (e.g., Puhl et
al., 2005) and study 1 that beliefs about controllability are related to greater anti-fat attitudes.
Equally, Gusfield (1981) suggests that the framing of fatness as the result of unhealthy
choices (e.g., poor diet and inactivity) is likely to cast the overweight and obese as morally
deviant and in extreme cases as “villains”. Placing such high emphasis on obesity as a
controllable condition is likely to have an influence on the perceptions readers have about the
condition and those who suffer from it. If readers attend to and internalise media messages
about controllability and therefore attribute obesity to internal controllable factors, there is a
130
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
greater likelihood that those individuals will form anti-fat attitudes and stigmatise the obese.
This would support the explanation of the deleterious effects of overemphasising personal
causes of obesity on stigmatising attitudes offered by Attribution Theory (Weiner et al.,
1995).
With previous research (e.g., Puhl et al., 2007) suggesting that those who perceive obesity to
be controllable are more likely to hold anti-fat attitudes and the influential role that politicians
play within society, David Cameron’s comment in The Times that “some people who are
poor, fat or addicted to alcohol or drugs have only themselves to blame” (Elliot et al., 2008,
p. 1) is of concern. The potential effect from an influential figure such as David Cameron,
Conservative Party Leader who has since become the Prime Minister of Great Britain, may
have on the perceptions of obesity that individuals in society form is alarming with such
deleterious comments in a national newspaper. The comment Cameron makes places
significant emphasis on the individual and that the condition is under personal control, thus
those suffering from obesity are responsible for their condition. What is also of importance
here is how Cameron groups obesity with social deviances (alcohol and drugs) which is likely
to fuel negative perceptions of obesity given the potential negative connotations of these
addictions. It should also be noted how Cameron associates poverty with obesity, which
Townsend (2009) suggests reflects a convergence of moral discourses between poverty and
ill health, which in today’s society is most prominent in the discourse of obesity. The article
also mentions that Cameron “said that society had been too sensitive in failing to judge the
behaviour of others as good or bad, right or wrong, and it was time for him to speak out
against “moral neutrality”” (Elliot et al., 2008, p. 1). Cameron is clearly indicating a view
that fat is controllable and that if people become overweight and obese it is their own fault,
and consequently society should judge their behaviour as ‘wrong’. Similarly, the grouping of
131
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
obesity with these social deviances also serves to promote the view that obesity is immoral in
the same way that for example drug taking is viewed as immoral. These two quotations also
suggest that all of the above problems in society should be perceived similarly and relate to
the 1st order theme responsibility.
What is also evident and alarming about David Cameron’s comments is that they support the
final common pathway of obesity, where energy intake chronically exceeds energy
expenditure (McArdle et al., 2001), with no mention of a genetic influence. For example, he
comments “we talk about people being ‘at risk of obesity’ instead of talking about people
who eat too much and take too little exercise” and that obesity is a “purely external event like
a plague or bad weather” (Elliot et al., 2008, p. 1). Just as Cameron links obesity with
immoral behaviours and attributes the condition to controllable causes, Hoverd and Sibley
(2007) report that individuals implicitly and explicitly perceive negative health behaviours
such as overeating and sedentary behaviour as more sinful than socially positive health
behaviours such as dieting and regular exercise. Thus, the initial foundations of anti-fat
attitudes, proposed to result from perceptions of obesity as immoral, are further endorsed by
comments from Cameron’s comments and others (see below) who suggest that obesity is
controllable.
The Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, projects a similar view regarding the controllability of
obesity stating in The Times that “It’s the curse of modern life – we eat too much and don’t
take enough exercise to burn off the calories. That’s why so many people are overweight. If
this trend continues, by 2050 nine out of ten adults and two thirds of all children will be
overweight or obese” (Leroux, 2008, p. 47). These comments also reinforce the Protestant
Ethic which is based on the belief that success results from hard work and negative outcomes
132
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
occur through moral failings of self indulgence and a lack of self discipline (Crandall, 1994;
Quinn & Crocker, 1999). According to the Protestant Ethic, negative outcomes are only
caused by a lack of self discipline and one has substantial influence over one’s own
outcomes. Consequently this leads to the stigmatisation of those who experience negative
outcomes such as obesity, as body fatness is believed to be controllable. Thus, the
underpinning message of the Protestant Ethic is supported and transmitted by the above
articles which highlight moral failings and personal responsibility as chief causes of obesity.
Thus in relation to research question 3, there is therefore evidence to suggest that newspaper
portrayals include information pertinent to the core values of the Protestant Ethic.
Hovard (2005) purports that fatness is perceived as a sin and that the obese body is implicitly
perceived as lacking moral personal responsibility. These articles however, provide evidence
that newspapers project explicit anti-fat attitudes that obesity is within an individual’s
control. In relation to the Elaboration Likelihood Model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), this
repeated exposure and therefore greater opportunity to scrutinise the messages regarding the
controllability of obesity is likely to lead to central route processing (Hague & White, 2005),
where attitudes become internalised, robust and resistant to change. Furthermore, the source
of reinforcement or persuasion is also expected to affect the likelihood of whether attitudes
are influenced. Thus support for the Protestant Ethic values from David Cameron and Alan
Johnson is more likely to lead to the adoption of these attitudes by those who are exposed to
them. Petty and Cacioppo (1983) argue that an influential aspect of whether information is
processed through the peripheral route is source credibility and therefore if politicians are
perceived to be moral, then their perceptions of immoral behaviour are more likely to be
internalised and advocated by others exposed to these messages.
133
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
A number of articles include exercise as an issue related to obesity whether as is a cause of
the condition or a strategy to combat it. In The Sun, Morton (2008) suggests that children are
now spending less time being active than ever “putting their health at risk and creating an
obesity timebomb” (p. 27). Within this report are comments from academics such as
Professor John Reilly who comments that “children should take fewer car journeys and be
encouraged to walk and use public transport if we are to tackle the obesity problem” (p. 27).
The emphasis placed on controllable causes in the media is disproportional to that of
scientific research, with widespread research enquiry (e.g., Dabelea, 2007; Li, Zaho, Luan et
al., 2010; Loos & Bouchard, 2003) examining the predisposition for obesity to be caused by a
variety of uncontrollable factors. Given that obesity has been attributed to controllable factors
such as physical activity rates (e.g., Gutin, 2011) and uncontrollable factors such as the
obesity gene (e.g., Rankinen, Zuberi, Chagnon et al., 2006) the implications of the above
findings are that the media should provide a more accurate view to reflect the knowledge
gained from scientific enquiry. Additionally, the greater emphasis placed on the
controllability of obesity and supporting the Protestant Ethic is likely to have adverse
consequences through the manifestation and reinforcement of anti-fat attitudes, stigmatisation
of the overweight and obesity, and the harmful effects on self esteem and body image for
those suffering from body disturbance caused by level of fatness. These findings reflecting
the controllability of obesity would support the suggestion offered initially that newspapers
would identify controllable factors as the cause of obesity more frequently than
uncontrollable factors.
Traditionally, tabloid newspapers are considered more sensationalist, tongue-in-cheek and
providers of entertainment news, compared with broadsheet newspapers that tend to be read
134
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
for political, economic and educational news (McRobbie & Thornton, 1995; Newton, 1999).
Whilst both broadsheet and tabloid newspapers mainly attribute the causes of obesity to
controllable causes compared with uncontrollable causes, the inclusion of information
relevant to the moralising of obesity is more evident in broadsheet newspapers than tabloid
newspapers. This is illustrated in David Cameron’s comments in The Times quoted earlier,
that “society had been too sensitive in failing to judge the behaviours of others as good or
bad, right or wrong, and it was time for him to speak out against “moral neutrality”” (Elliot
et al., 2008, p. 1). As a result, broadsheet newspaper readers may be more likely to perceive
the obese as morally lacking compared with tabloid newspaper readers, presenting a potential
future research avenue. In relation to research question 2, this information is pertinent to the
2nd order theme Personal Control, which provides evidence that tabloid and broadsheet
newspapers portray obesity differently.
4.4.1.2 Interventions
Interventions for overweight and obesity were evident throughout both broadsheet and
tabloid newspaper articles, with the focus on combating external causes of obesity such as
consuming a more healthy diet and advice from famous individuals who are reported to have
a good shape, relating to the first order theme interventions. For example an article in The
Sun reads “if every time you crave something sweet you eat an apple or piece of broccoli,
after a few days your appetite will have adjusted and your craving will stop” (Waterman &
Davies, 2008, p. 34), or through physical activity, where an article in the Daily Mail reports
that the best way of getting rid of the “muffin top” (“excess fat situated all around the
abdominal area of the body”) is by aerobic exercise and that anything that gets “heart rate up
and your body moving -- will burn fat” (Holiday, 2009, p. 44). Improving consumption and
increasing physical activity were two solutions for weight loss that often occurred
135
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
simultaneously, such as in the News of the World, Lady Isabella (2008) comments that “the
key is to eat well and exercise regularly – that’s all” (p. 26).
Other strategies identified for combating obesity were the use of drugs and surgery that were
presented as ‘wonder cures’ or ‘quick fixes’. For example, one advert appearing in the Daily
Mail on a few occasions was “THE DOCTOR’S DIET TO LOSE A STONE IN 10 DAYS”
(Spira, 2008, p. 52). This article not only presents a diet plan as a quick fix, but in an attempt
to add credibility and interest in the diet, the article continues to read that Spira is a “slimming
expert who has worked with overweight and obese people for the last 30 years” and has
“worked with supermodels, pop stars, celebrities who have all used this method, such as
Kylie and Jennifer Lopez” (p. 52). These articles suggest that excess body fat can be treated
in a short amount of time which has major implications that should be considered. First, these
articles inform the reader that weight gain and loss can be controlled which reinforces
messages of controllability. Second, the potential ramifications of the intervention being
unsuccessful may have harmful effects and may lead to unwillingness to comply with weight
loss interventions in the future, with the potential to cause detrimental effects on
psychological wellbeing. For example, Rydén, Hedenbro, and Frederiksen (1996) reported
signs of depression in a sample of patients with unsatisfactory weight loss (BMI reduced less
than 50%) three years post Vertical Banded Glastroplasty (the most common form of
bariatric surgery) in comparison with patients who achieved satisfactory weight loss (BMI
reduced by 50% or more).
Roberts and Flint (2011) highlight concerns regarding the promotion of interventions for
overweight and obesity that are evident in these articles. One of these is the lack of
information regarding the potential side effects of the intervention. For example, Christensen,
136
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Kristensen, Bartels, Gliddal, and Astrup (1998) reported in a meta-analysis that patients
receiving 20mg of Rimonabant (a weight loss aid) suffered from depressed mood states and
anxiety, and as a result were 2.5 times more likely to cease treatment. Another concern raised
by Roberts and Flint (2011) is that these articles present interventions as weight loss aids as
opposed to fat loss, which is somewhat misleading as it is an excess of fatness as opposed to
weight which is the major cause for concern as a health problem (Deurenberg-Yap, Schmidt,
Van Staveren, & Deurenberg, 2000), and consequently, individuals become preoccupied with
losing weight and not fat.
On a similar note to weight loss interventions, a number of newspaper articles comment on
improving the appearance of one’s body, and whilst this often alludes to weight loss, the
importance of gaining an “acceptable” body appearance is further encouraged, relating to the
first order theme weight loss/improve body shape. For example, an article in The Daily
Telegraph uses the title “Get your body in shape for the beach in just 30 minutes”, informing
readers that “you need to commit to exercising 30 minutes a day for the next two weeks”
(Stubbs, 2009, p. 20), whilst another in the Daily Mail that is written by a former celebrity
comments how he is “desperate to lose weight” after gaining 6lbs (Byron, 2008, p. 43).
Previous research (e.g., Musher-Eizenman, Holub, Edwards-Leeper, Persson, & Goldstein,
2003; Rand & Wright, 2000) has reported that achieving an ‘acceptable’ body shape is of
highly important. For example, Rand and Wright (2000) report that all age groups (children
aged 6-10 years, young adults aged 16-25 years, middle aged adults aged 35-45 years, older
adults aged 55-65 years) selected body sizes in the midrange of figure silhouette line
drawings as ‘socially acceptable’. In addition, younger participants, especially children, were
less accepting of variations in body size.
137
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Both broadsheet and tabloid newspapers include information about interventions for obesity
with the majority focusing on modifying food consumption and physical activity. Tabloid
newspapers however, provide information on a greater range of interventions compared with
broadsheet newspapers. Examples include pharmaceutical products such as Zotrim (Daily
Mail, 2008) AICAR (The Sun, 2008) and Alli (MacRae, 2009; Daily Mail); and surgery, for
example an article in the News of the World reads “our unforgiving photo was enough to
prompt mum-of-four Fern to take drastic measures - and she SECRETLY had a gastric-band
operation” (Aye Maung, 2008, p. 12), and the body double of Kylie Minogue’s bottom who
was reported in the News of the World to be having the “fat sucked out – so that her backside
looks exactly the same as the pop princess’s” (Wooton, 2008, p. 37). Tabloid newspapers also
report more on the weight loss strategies that celebrities use, for example an article in The
Sun reports that Joan Collins commented that “if every time you crave something sweet you
eat an apple or a piece of broccoli, after a few days your appetite will have adjusted and your
craving will stop” (Waterman & Davies, 2008, p. 34). In relation to research question 2, this
information pertinent to the 2nd order theme Interventions, provides evidence that tabloid and
broadsheet newspapers portray obesity differently.
4.4.2 Effects of Obesity
The general dimension of Effects of Obesity is comprised of three second order themes
which are Psychosocial Effects of Obesity with four first order themes, Perceptions of Obesity
encompassing four first order themes and Prevalence comprised of three first order themes
(Figure 4.3). The typical information presented in newspaper articles relating to the
Psychosocial Effects of Obesity refer to ‘normal life’ being affected by obesity such as an
article in The Sun that reads “my girlfriend is so overweight, she gets out of breath when we
make love” (Sanders, 2009, p. 41). Information relating to the second order theme
138
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Perceptions of Obesity included stigmatisation and stereotyping of the obese, for example an
article in the Daily Mail includes the comments “fat we say, is bad. Fat is lazy. Fat is
uncontrolled. Fat is unsuccessful. Fat is ugly.” (Lavallee, 2009, p. 15) and reference to the
terminology used to refer to the overweight and obese, such as an article in The Times that
reads “sparing the stigma: word ‘obese’ is too harmful for parents” (Hawkes, 2008, p. 16).
Articles relating to the second order theme Prevalence included information about the
widespread nature of obesity in the UK, predictions for future trends, morbidity and mortality
and genetic predisposition, for example in The Sun an article reads “a QUARTER of fiveyear-olds and A THIRD of 10-year-olds are overweight or obese” (Hendry, 2008, p. 5).
4.4.2.1 Psychosocial Effects of Obesity
Newspaper articles frequently detailed how obesity affects an individual’s ability to live a
‘normal life’ implying that those who suffer from the condition are estranged, which is likely
to result in an inability to live akin to the majority of society. One such article in The Sunday
Times reports that the obese are becoming too heavy to scan, with one solution being to use a
horse scanner (Coyle, 2009). This article, like others, goes some way to dehumanising the
obese and reflects a perception that the obese are abnormal remarking that an obese patient
could not fit into a hospital scanner. Other articles contain references to how obesity affects
romantic relationships, for example an article in the News of the World informs the reader
about a celebrity who is being divorced because she has become too fat: “She’s turned into a
lard****. I’m not going to bed with that” (Gladdis & Wooton, 2009, p. 7). This quote also
represents an example of anti-fat attitudes that are evident in national newspaper articles and
by including comments such as this without critical commentary, the newspapers are
inadvertently supporting and encouraging this discriminatory behaviour.
139
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
In a similar vein, another article in the News of the World comments on how “a
DESPERATE virgin weighing 22 STONE shed more than half her bodyweight on a mammoth
diet –AND lost her cherry in the bargain” (Acton, 2009, p. 31). Both these articles suggest to
the reader that obesity is sexually unattractive and that obesity is likely to affect one’s
romantic relationships. As acknowledged by Himes and Thompson (2007) regarding an
associative effect of stigmatising fatness, these articles go beyond disparaging the obese by
not only presenting obesity in a negative light but at the same time promoting thinness, as the
message encourages the reader to avoid obesity and as such concurrently promotes thinness.
A number of articles about individuals who are or have suffered from obesity included
information about their experiences of bullying and weight-related teasing. For example in
The Sun, Georgina Davis was dubbed “BRITAIN’S FATTEST TEEN: 33st AT 15” (Hendry,
2008, p. 1). Within the article there is information about how Georgina became distressed,
such as “when I look in the mirror I feel so sad and go to my room and cry” and how she was
terrified after “Doctors have told me I could drop dead at any moment” (Hendry, 2008, p. 4).
She also comments that “bullying at school was really bad. I would get called ‘fatty’ and ‘tub
of lard’. I used to go home and cry in my room. It made me turn to food” (Hendry, 2008, p.
4). An article in the News of the World comments how a woman was “bullied at school. The
kids would yell, ‘Who ate all the pies’, as I walked past” (Laing, 2008, p. 22). As mentioned
earlier, these articles also fail to condemn or deter the bullying behaviour towards the obese
individual and therefore may be perceived as supporting behaviour. The above provide
examples of newspaper portrayals that represent the first order theme harmful effects on life.
In personal stories about obesity, there are comments from individuals about weight gain
concerns, in addition to remarks from those who have lost weight of the beneficial effects of
140
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
doing so. For example, some articles comment how individuals’ confidence and positive
comments from others have increased after losing weight (e.g., Matheson, 2009: The Sun),
whilst an article in The Sun remarks that a girl previously reported to be Britain’s fattest
teenager, lost 15 stones and is an “attractive young woman” and “the girl is an inspiration”
(The Sun, 2009, p. 49). Other newspapers also report on pressures from others to achieve an
“acceptable” physique such as from parents and significant others. For example in the News
of the World, Gregson (2009) reports on a woman who lost 6 stones as a result of the
pressure she received from her children, who were said to be ashamed of the way she looked
and that the pain forced her to lose weight. She commented that her body was disgusting and
that she had become depressed with the way it looked, which she ignored until she realised
that her children were suffering and felt humiliated when seen with her in public. Another
article in the News of the World comments how a girl had idealised the thin ideal and loved
looking at skinny models such as Victoria Beckham, which had lead to restricting her
consumption to “eating lettuce leaves, cabbage soaked in vinegar and Diet Coke” (O’Hagan,
2009, p. 28). This article also highlights the dangers of promoting unrealistic body shapes and
striving for the thin ideal, where the girl managed to lose weight; however, her eating
pathology became out of control and she dropped to 6 stones, was on a ventilator and went
into a coma (O’Hagan, 2009). The above provide examples of newspaper portrayals that
represent the first order themes weight gain concerns and external pressures.
There was a clear difference between broadsheet and tabloid newspapers in relation to the
psychosocial effects of obesity theme, where tabloid newspapers reported more on the
negative consequences of overweight and obesity such as bullying at school (Hendry, 2008:
The Sun) and at work (Laing, 2008: News of the World). Articles in tabloid newspapers were
very descriptive, for example an article in The Sun includes some of the names an obese girl
141
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
was called at school when bullied such as “fatty” and “tub of lard” (Hendry, 2008, p. 5).
Similarly, in the News of the World an article provides information about how “desperate” a
girl was to try sex, how prior to losing weight she went on a blind date hoping to lose her
virginity, and was told “fat chance, love!” (Acton, 2009, p. 31). In relation to research
question 2, the information pertinent to the 2nd order theme Psychosocial Effects of Obesity,
provides evidence that tabloid and broadsheet newspapers portray obesity differently.
4.4.2.2 Perceptions of Obesity
Information relating to the first order theme fat jokes/stigmatisation/discrimination was in
abundance. Stigmatising portrayals of obesity were evident throughout newspaper articles,
which Himes and Thompson (2007) suggest will encourage thin idealisation. The Sunday
Times included a particularly negative portrayal of obesity reflecting a belief that obesity is
associated with a lower socio-economic class. Marrine (2008) comments that “the only
reason for interfering with what fat people eat is how much it costs the rest of us, perhaps we
should leave them alone. It’s well known that obesity (and fatness) are associated with poor
education, poor housing, poor employment or none, low expectations and all the rest” (p. 16)
and that to “prevent obesity is a good income, a good education, good opportunities and the
kind of background that develops self-confidence” (p. 16). Marrine (2008) proceeds to
comment that the “obese seem to fill their carts regularly with several times their own weight
in eatables that can only make them fatter, that they shouldn’t eat and no one should
produce, as if they were determined to lay down yet more adipose tissue. Yes you never see
such bloated people and trolleys in smart supermarkets in rich areas. These days you can
easily tell people’s precise socioeconomic bracket and body weight by the content of their
trolleys” (p. 16). The above quotations suggest to the reader that there is a divide in society
and that those with a less affluent background are more likely to be obese, and may provide a
142
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
potential reason for why previous research (e.g., Allon, 1982; Harris, 1990; Prentice, 1995)
reports that the obese are stereotyped as lazy, gluttonous, lacking self esteem and
intellectually slow.
Stereotypical portrayals of the overweight and obese were also a common occurrence in
newspaper articles, such as Liddle’s (2009) highly derogatory comments in response to the
UK Government initiative ‘Change4Life’ in The Sunday Times in which he suggests “we live
in an “obesogenic” society, which means – I think – that our hospitals are full of morbidly
obese chavs with kettle chips poking out of their nostrils, their vital organs entombed in
gallons of hydrogenated blubber. People who cannot watch X Factor without reaching for
the KFC Party Death Bucket; slabs of lard who move only when the remote has fallen down a
crack in the sofa” (p. 15). This is a clear example of some of the commonly reported
stereotypes of the obese which include laziness and greed (Gordon, 2000). The comment that
“hospitals are full of obese chavs” has no foundation given obesity has become widespread
and is affecting individuals from all backgrounds and sections within society (James, 2002).
The insulting description of the obese is similarly unfounded (“kettle chips poking out of their
nostrils” and “people who cannot watch X Factor without reaching for the KFC Party Death
Bucket”), and can only strengthen erroneous stereotypes about the obese, which, given the
size of the readership of national newspapers is of immense concern. Weight bias and
stigmatisation of the overweight and obese in the media is alarming, which, based on Social
Consensus Theory, Puhl and Brownell (2003) argue may lead to overestimated perceptions of
the number of others sharing these attitudes and beliefs and further exacerbate overweight
and obesity stereotyping and stigmatisation.
143
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Social Consensus Theory (Puhl & Brownell, 2003) purports that stereotypes and prejudice
are developed, maintained and changed as a result of others’ beliefs (Brownell et al., 2005).
The stigmatisation and dehumanisation of overweight and obesity is clearly evident in UK
national newspapers, thus this belief is likely to influence the readers’ perceptions of this
condition. Stereotypes observed in the data such as in an article in The Times “fat we say, is
bad. Fat is lazy. Fat is uncontrolled. Fat is unsuccessful. Fat is ugly” (Lavallee, 2009, p. 15),
may influence the formation and maintenance of anti-fat attitudes and stereotypes. These
findings, suggestive of obesity stigmatisation, support expectation offered that anti-fat
attitudes observed in study 1 and obesity stigmatisation are evident in UK newspaper articles.
The System Justification Theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994) suggests that members of low status
groups, in this case the overweight and obese, would demonstrate negative perceptions of
overweight and obesity either through a depressed liking for their own group (the outgroup)
or as a result of a greater liking for the ingroup. Evidence of stigmatisation and anti-fat
attitudes from overweight and obese individuals was evident in the newspaper articles. For
example, an article in the Daily Mail reads “Hail Chubsters. It’s been six weeks, and Fat
Bloke has reduced his blubber footprint by half a stone. Things are beginning to fit guys and
gals, and I’m quite liking what I see. Next week I might even ask myself out!” (Perkins, 2008,
p. 43). Another article about Michael Winner in the Daily Mail has the title “THE FAT PIG
GETS (A TEENY BIT) PORKIER” (Winner, 2009, p. 26). This article was written by Michael
Winner and demonstrates that overweight and obese individuals project anti-fat attitudes and
use derogatory comments regarding fatness even though they are considered overweight and
obese. Similarly, there is an article in the News of the World about Dawn French’s new book
called “Dear Fatty – By Dawn French” (Wright, 2008, p. 43). The above quotations are
prime examples of system justifying beliefs, which have been also been noted in research
144
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
regarding the stigmatisation of obesity (e.g., Puhl & Brownell, 2003). Evident in the
quotation above from Michael Winner and in a number of newspapers is the active
dehumanisation of the overweight and obese.
Other articles demonstrate that dehumanisation is common and that non-overweight
individuals also engage in derogatory remarks along these lines. For example in The Times,
Marrine (2008) comments after recently going shopping at Tesco, how she was “astonished
by the number of horribly obese shoppers waddling around the aisles with their elephantine
children, who could not have possibly squashed themselves into an ordinary one-person
chair. Young women with eyes reduced to slits by the pressure of fat on their face, laughed
grimly with each other as they scanned the shelves” (p. 16). This is a particularly descriptive
and demeaning opinion, which is also worryingly directed towards children, encouraging the
disparagement of this population that may carry serious consequences. For example, bullying
and victimisation have been reported towards the obese with effects on adolescents of
experiences of shame and social isolation (Sjöberg, Nilsson, & Leppert, 2005). Moreover,
children who experience bullying have a greater likelihood of suffering from depression and
anxiety in adulthood (Gladstone, Parker, & Malhi, 2006). Another article in the News of the
World mentions how a girl was bullied at school regarding her weight, with her class mates
calling her “Miss Piggy”. She became so depressed and disgusted in her body that she
stopped showering and washing her clothes (Gregson, 2009). Whilst there are a number of
articles reporting on the widespread nature of anti-fat attitudes and stigmatisation, there are
also reports of their negative consequences. For example, an article in the News of the World
reports that “ONE IN FIVE 13-16 YEAR OLDS IS NOW OVERWEIGHT, FACED WITH
YEARS OF BULLYING AND TEASING, A GROWING NUMBER OF TEENAGERS ARE
CHOOSING THE QUICK FIX OF THE SURGEON’S KNIFE” (p. 10) and that bullies
145
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
taunted a girl so much that she hated school: “THEY’D YELL “FATTY” AT ME OR
WORSE”” (Appleyard, 2008, p. 10). Thus in relation to research question 1, the examples
above provide evidence of anti-fat attitudes and fat stigmatisation is present in UK national
newspapers, consistent with those reported in study 1.
A cluster of research (e.g., Dutton et al., 2010; Gray, Hunt, Lorimer, Anderson, Benzeval, &
Wyke, 2011; Tailor & Ogden, 2009) has recently emerged that considers the different
terminology used to refer to overweight and obesity and the debate regarding overweight and
obesity terminology. Not surprisingly, Terminology was also evident as a 1st order theme in
newspaper articles. Gray et al. (2011) highlight the importance of using acceptable weight
related terms as this may affect patients’ motivation to lose weight and may disrupt the
patient practitioner relationship. The NAAFA promote the use of the word fat as opposed to
obese as it is considered to be a more neutral descriptive word (Bacon et al., 2001). However,
some newspaper articles suggest that the word obese is being used more frequently. For
example, medics from the National Obesity Forum have urged the Government to use the
term obesity (Wooding, 2008, p. 15). In contrast, an article in The Times reports that the
Department of Health has decided not to use the word obese in letters sent to parents about
their children’s weight, and will use the terms underweight, healthy weight, overweight and
very overweight (Hawkes, 2008).
Previous research (e.g., Lee, Ha, Jacobson Vann, & Choi, 2009; Maximova, McGrath,
Barnett, O’Loughlin, Paradis, & Lambert, 2008) has noted that perceptions of overweight and
obesity may be inaccurate. For example, Maximova et al. (2008) reported that children and
adolescents, who are exposed to overweight and obese individuals on a daily basis, may
develop inaccurate perceptions of body size and importantly what constitutes a healthy body
146
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
size. This may not be helped by the avoidance of using the term obesity by Government
Departments when it does not in fact accurately reflect the individual’s weight status. The
problem of identifying obesity (1st order theme) was also evident in the present study data,
where for example, an article in News of the World reads “tens of thousands of kids
REFUSED to be weighed during a Government movement to measure the scale of the
problem” (Lyons, 2008, p. 28). In another article in the News of the World, a woman
comments that she knew she was overweight, but was unaware of the extent of it (Acton,
2008).
It should also be noted that throughout the newspapers, various references are made to
overweight and obesity; however, an alias used in numerous articles is “fatty” or “fatties”
(e.g., Clarkson, 2009; Ferrier, 2009; Oliver, 2009). For example in The Sunday Times, one
headline reporting that Health Secretary Alan Johnson, who was apparently inspired by the
television show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’, states “Minister tells fatties to follow the dancing
pig” and “Fatties told to dance” (Oliver, 2009, p. 1). In another article in The Sunday Times,
Jeremy Clarkson comments on driving through Oxford the previous day, when “a Peugeot
full of three overweight teenagers lunged across three lanes”, with the article title of “NO
FATTY, YOU DO NOT GIVE ME THE HORN” (Clarkson, p. 16). However, it seems that the
overweight and obese also use this term, with a book review in the News of the World for
Dawn French’s new book titled “Dear Fatty” (Wright, p. 43). Referring to the overweight
and obese as “fatties”, further reinforces the message that this is an abnormal characteristic
deviating from the norm and that those who have excess body fat are separate and distinctly
different on the basis of appearance. This alienating terminology is employed by individuals
of all sizes including the overweight and obese, supporting the System Justification Theory
147
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
(Jost & Banaji, 1994), that proposes that members of an outgroup display a disliking for their
own group or a greater liking for the ingroup.
Another concerning inclusion that emerged in the data was that obesity was associated with
social deviances such as alcohol and drug use, intimating that obesity is immoral and deviant
(1st order theme: association with social deviances). Associations are also made between
obesity and economic status, suggesting that obesity is a problem for the poor (e.g., Elliot et
al., 2008). This is consistent with scientific articles (e.g., Evans, 2009; Friedman, 2003;
O’Hara & Gregg, 2006) that make associations between social deviances and more extreme
anti-social behaviours such as terrorism, and through the framing of obesity as a ‘war’ which
by definition includes a “campaign against something undesirable” (Soanes, 2003, p. 1302).
Another aspect of the definition of war is armed conflict between different groups; however,
as Friedman (2003) highlighted, this is a ‘war on obesity’, not on the obese and therefore the
association of the condition with criminal behaviours has the potential to create a problematic
situation and the formation of anti-fat attitudes, similar to the development of anti-drug
attitudes where behaviours are considered criminal and in some instances against the morals
of society. Sontag (1989) remarked that the modern war against illnesses is typically fuelled
by the attribution of fault to the individual. Thus newspaper portrayals of obesity as
controllable, and associated with criminal and socially deviant behaviours that are perceived
as sinful and immoral, is likely to contribute to the formation, maintenance and
intensification of anti-fat attitudes, prejudice and discrimination. Action to tackle this
portrayal is clearly warranted.
The consequences of associating obesity with social deviance may be severe and cannot be
underestimated. If obesity is deemed to be self induced, blameworthy and analogous to
148
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
behaviours such as smoking, then the obese may expect to be treated in a manner similar to
smokers (Townsend, 2009). There are explicit examples of where smokers and the obese are
treated similarly, for example, Glantz (2007) reports that smokers are denied certain surgical
procedures unless they quit the habit and in some cases the obese are also denied surgical
procedures (Garcia & DeMaria, 2006; Hamoui, Kantor, Vince & Crookes, 2006). Thus
similar treatment as well as the grouping of obesity with social deviance may have
detrimental effects on the self and on others’ perceptions of the obese. For example, Glantz
(2007) reports discrimination towards smokers has become an acceptable norm whilst
research (e.g., Carr & Friedman, 2005; Puhl & Brownell, 2001) has similarly reported that
discrimination towards the obese is perceived as acceptable.
O’Hara and Gregg (2006) suggest that there are health practitioners who work within a
weight centred health paradigm framework who “focus on acceptable levels of body fat” (p.
261). This reflects the acculturation of leanness and a ‘war on obesity’ and is of concern
given that the role of health professionals is not to do harm, as “the ‘war on obesity’ is
actually a war on fat people and the casualties from such a war are felt personally and by the
community” (p. 260). The health at every size paradigm offers a more compassionate and
effective approach to health, which O’Hara and Gregg (2006) suggest is a more preferable
paradigm for health practitioners to work within. The results of the present study suggest that
there are aspects newspaper portrayals of obesity that reflect the ‘war on obesity’ and
importantly the weight centred health paradigm. The present study raises similar concern to
that noted by O’Hara and Gregg (2006), as the media portray the condition and provide
information from a weight centred approach referring to obesity as a problem that requires
eradication analogous to a war. This has the potential to create a breeding ground for
stigmatisation and discrimination directed towards the obese.
149
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Interestingly however, Saguy and Almeling (2008) reported an overlap between scientific
research discourse and media coverage of obesity. For example, a recent article reports on the
economic burden to the NHS as a result of physical inactivity, poor diet, smoking, excessive
alcohol consumption and obesity (Scarborough, Bhatnagar, Wickramasinghe, Allender,
Foster, & Rayner, 2011). Like others, this article makes associations between smoking,
excessive alcohol consumption and obesity, with the former two generally perceived as
unhealthy, deviant habits and by clustering these characteristics, this implicitly reinforces a
perception that obesity is also a deviant behaviour. This union between behaviours perceived
to be immoral and obesity also serves to reinforce the Protestant Ethic through association,
which may consequently lead to the obese being perceived in the same light as those
behaving in a criminal behaviour (e.g., drug users).
Both broadsheet and tabloid newspapers include information indicative of perceptions of
obesity including negative opinions, however a difference between the portrayals is evident
where broadsheet newspapers include information relating to the moralising of overweight
and obesity and associate the condition with behaviours deemed to be socially deviant such as
in the example above detailing David Cameron’s comments. There are also derogatory
comments made towards the obese by newspaper writers such as those observed above in an
article in The Times by Marrine (2008) and in The Sunday Times by Liddle (2009). Tabloid
newspapers on the other hand include information about negative perceptions and derogatory
comments made by others towards the obese, for example in the News of the World, Galddis
and Wooton (2009) report that Kerry Katona’s husband has commented that “She’s turning
into a lard****. I’m not going to bed with that” (p. 7). Thus in relation to research question 2,
150
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
there is information pertinent to the 2nd order theme Perceptions of Obesity, which provides
evidence that tabloid and broadsheet newspapers portray obesity differently.
4.4.2.3 Prevalence
Statistics about the prevalence (1st order theme) of obesity were presented in numerous
articles (e.g., James, 2004). Previous research (e.g., Biltekoff, 2010; Saguy & Almeling,
2008) suggests that obesity is consistently reinforced to the general population as a threat
through media sources, increasing a sense of fear through the alarmist framing of the
condition. Thus, by reporting obesity prevalence and predicting future figures if action is not
taken to halt this ‘threat to society’, these articles act as a means to heighten fear of obesity.
For example, an article in The Times reads “if we do nothing, 90 per cent of today’s children
could be overweight or obese by 2050, leaving them at risk from serious illness such as heart
disease or diabetes” (Rose, 2008, p. 25). As noted by Rich and Evans (2005), newspaper
headlines do not only play a role in informing the public about obesity related issues, but also
incite alarm and moral panic. For example, in The Daily Telegraph, Smith (2008a) reports
that “children run the risk of dying before their parents” (p. 14) and in response to the
Government’s Change4Life initiative, Liddle (2009) notes in The Sunday Times that if “we
wish to chomp ourselves to an early grave” (p. 15) then it is a problem for those individuals.
A number of headlines also use a play on words; for example, in relation to the cost of
obesity a headline in The Times reads “bill for obese patients balloons” (Rose, 2009, p. 9)
and in The Sun “ON BENEFATS” (Wilson, 2009, p. 28).
Of the 51 articles referring to the prevalence of obesity, 30 references were made to
childhood obesity, 7 to adult obesity and 18 to the general prevalence of obesity. The
disproportionate attention paid to the prevalence of childhood obesity reflects the concern
151
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
regarding the rapid increases in childhood overweight and obesity prevalence (Health Survey
for England, 2006; Wang & Lobstein, 2006). Media reports of prevalence and future
estimates of prevalence figures have been suggested as a stimulus for ‘moral panic’ (Boero,
2007; Evans, 2009). It has also been suggested that reports relating to children have a more
pertinent effect creating this ‘moral panic’ and that the media act as ‘spin doctors’ to increase
attention on the condition (Zgoba, 2004).
Alongside the ever increasing prevalence of obesity is a concomitant increase in the cost of
treating the condition and its associated co-morbidities (James, 2004). This is a topic that
appeared in all newspapers throughout the data collection period, many of which state figures
to represent the economic effect the UK is facing as a result of the epidemic. For example in
The Times, Rose (2009) reports that “the bill for obese patients balloons” commenting on
“the cost that the NHS are incurring as a result of obesity, such as special couches, weighing
scales and blood pressure cuffs for overweight patients. Spending on obesity in one in six
Primary Care Trusts has increased by more than seven fold in the last three years” (p. 9).
The expressions used to discuss this issue are of concern, as they may contribute to the
intensification of a belief that the obese are abnormal. For example in the News of the World,
Laing (2008) reports “A enormous 68-strong team of medics weighed in to deliver 40-stone
Leanne’s three babies. And the total bill to the NHS added up to a hefty £200,000 – four
times the normal cost of triplets” (p. 22). There is clear evidence that newspaper portrayals
purposefully choose weight related terms in articles on obesity, which is likely to further
contribute to the stigmatisation of obesity. Examples of purposefully using weight related
words in newspaper portrayals of the overweight and obese from the extracts above are the
words “balloon”, “weighed in” and “hefty”. MacLean, Edwards, Garrard, Sims-Jones,
Clinton, and Ashley (2009) stress that caution is required regarding the constant messages of
152
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
tackling obesity and reporting on the costs of obesity to avoid the intensification and
perpetuation of anti-fat attitudes and stigmatisation of the obese. Additionally, in some
instances, obesity is suggested to have detrimental effects on others (non-overweight or
obese) which are likely to have harmful consequences on stigmatisation of the obese, for
example in The Times, Marrine (2008) ponders “the final cost of obesity would be to the tax
payer” (p. 16).
A number of newspaper articles include information about the risk of illness, disease and
death as a consequence of obesity, relating to the 1st order theme morbidity/mortality. For
example, one article in The Daily Telegraph states that scientists have suggested that a third
of adults in England will be obese within four years increasing the number of associated
health problems such as diabetes and cancer (Smith, 2008b) and increasing mortality, for
example in the Daily Mail, “doctors say I’ve only four or five years to live” (Johnson, 2009,
p. 26). Various articles discuss how obesity can cause premature death, for example an article
in the Daily Mail reported that an obese school Deputy Head teacher had died weeks after
losing 6 stones on a weight loss diet (Culley, 2008), whilst others report on the rising
prevalence of co-morbidities and associated health problems such as diabetes, cancer (Smith,
2008b: The Daily Telegraph), heart disease (Martin, 2009: Daily Mail), asthma and epilepsy
(Johnson, 2009: Daily Mail). For example, in the Daily Mail, Martin (2009) reports that
chocolate should not be seen as a treat any more and that because of “excessive consumption
this is having an increased effect on heart disease and diabetes cases” (p. 68).
Likewise with the number of reports of obesity increasing, that may consequently raise fear
and apprehension within society (Rich & Evans, 2005). Newspapers also inform the reader
that the co-morbidities of obesity threaten children by reporting that increasing numbers of
153
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
children are suffering from health problems such as type II diabetes which is a condition
previously most prominent in adults over 40 years (Hendry, 2008: The Sun) and is associated
with an early death (Smith, 2008b: The Daily Telegraph).
Whilst controllable factors have been linked with obesity, research also exists that
demonstrates the influence of genetics (1st order theme) on the likelihood of obesity (e.g.,
Carnell, Haworth, Plomin, & Wardle, 2008; Waddle et al., 2008). For example, Wardle et al.
(2008) demonstrated strong evidence that BMI and abdominal adiposity are influenced by
genetic predisposition. Newspapers however present the condition as a controllable
occurrence (98%), with little attention given to genetics (2%). Other researchers (e.g.,
Pérusse & Bouchard, 2000) discuss an interaction between genetics and diet as causes for
obesity, yet the overemphasis on controllable factors that cause obesity is clearly evident as is
the somewhat limited attention uncontrollable factors (e.g., genetic explanations) receive in
comparison to controllable factors (e.g., consumption of unhealthy foods).
The limited coverage genetics receives in relation to the causes of obesity in newspaper
articles is also reflected in the lack of detail and length of articles where only a few lines are
provided for these articles whereas those about controllable factors tended to be longer and in
some cases multiple pages. An example of an article relating to the genetic influence of
obesity in the Daily Mail reads that researchers believe “genetic mechanisms that control the
weight of an infant may be altered if a mother is obese” and that this “could lead to the baby
becoming heavier than normal – and a cycle where each successive generation is fatter than
the last” (Daily Mail, 2008, p. 9). In addition, articles about uncontrollable causes of obesity
were not discussed in isolation, where discussion of controllable causes is also included, as
the above article also includes information about sedentary lifestyles and junk food diets.
154
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
Another article in The Sun from “expert” Anushka Blau, remarks that women are
“genetically programmed to lay down fat around our hips and thighs to boost fertility” and
that “when you add a sedentary lifestyle and poor diet (catalyst for cellulite) into the
equation, there’s no wonder so many women are seeing unwanted changes in their
silhouette” (p. 42). The lack of information relating to obesity as uncontrollable reflects the
promotion of obesity as a controllable health condition and therefore the Protestant Ethic
which encompasses a perception that obesity can be avoided through hard work and
determination are further promoted, whilst sinful behaviour such as gluttony are purported
leads to its occurrence.
Reporting on the prevalence of overweight and obesity is very similar in broadsheet and
tabloid newspapers where both prevalence statistics, projections for the future and the
potential consequences of not intervening are presented. For example, in The Times, Rose
reports that “90 per cent of today’s children could be overweight or obese by 2050, leaving
them at risk from serious illness such as heart disease or diabetes” (p. 25). Tabloid articles
do however use more alarmist terminology than broadsheet articles. For example in The Sun,
McEntee (2008) reports that “two in every three of us are obese – pigging out on a scalebusting diet of chips, pizzas and sweets” (p. 26) and in the Daily Mail, MacRae (2008) reports
that alongside obesity “our growing appetite for fast food and sedentary lifestyles are also
fuelling a diabetes time bomb, with more than four million Britons expected to be sufferers by
2025” (p. 16). As noted above, there is limited portrayal of genetic influences in both
broadsheet and tabloid newspapers, thus conclusions about differences in portrayals cannot
be made. In relation to research question 2, the information pertinent to the 2nd order theme
Prevalence, provides evidence that tabloid and broadsheet newspapers portray obesity
differently.
155
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
4.4.3 Positive Portrayals of Overweight and Obesity
As demonstrated above, the majority of newspaper portrayals of overweight and obesity were
negative; however, there were five articles that were considered to represent positive
portrayals. An article in The Sun reports that a survey was conducted to examine the size of
models used to promote “underwear, shampoo and dress adverts to 18-25 year old women in
Queensland, Australia. They found that participants were more likely to purchase the product
after seeing the larger model” (The Sun, 2008, p. 28). Another article in The Sun reads that
“girls who are dress size 14 are reported to be the happiest followed by size 12 girls, so why
make yourself thinner” (Baig, 2008, p. 13). Also in The Sun, Davies (2008) reports that
“according to cereal brand Special K, women are at their happiest at size fourteen” (p. 34).
In The Times, Armstrong (2008) reports “that during the economic downturns men find
heavier women more attractive – and also that hungry men like big women” (p. 10). The final
example of a positive portrayal of overweight and obesity was in the Sunday Times in an
article by Allen-Mills (2008) who reports that “Senator Barack Obama may be too skinny to
win the Whitehouse in US elections” (p. 27) as there is a suggestion that his “slim physique is
a liability in a nation of mostly overweight voters”. Whilst this article seems to portray
overweight and obesity positively, the article also includes negative information from the
Wall Street Journal about those who suffer from the condition, “Obama might be too thin and
too fit to appeal to voters who tend to like candidates with flaws that they can identify with”
(p. 27).
156
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
4.4.4 Research Contributions
This research offers a number of important contributions to the understanding of anti-fat
attitude formation and the stigmatisation of obesity. For example, the link between beliefs
that obesity is controllable and anti-fat attitudes has been suggested previously (e.g., Puhl &
Brownell, 2005), with tentative suggestions of sources that influence the formation of such
perceptions tentatively proposed. This research goes one step further to demonstrate that
controllability beliefs and the stigmatisation of obesity are evident in newspaper portrayals.
Furthermore, to the knowledge of the researcher, this is the first study that has solely
examined a representative sample of UK newspaper articles in relation to obesity. The
majority of previous research (e.g., Greenberg et al., 2003) that has examined media
influence has focusing on television or magazine portrayals. With the vast number of the
population exposed to newspaper portrayal on a daily basis, this research makes an important
early contribution and highlights the need to further develop this line of research.
Four research questions were identified for the present study to answer. First in response to
question 1, there is unequivocal evidence of anti-fat attitudes and fat stigmatisation in UK
national newspapers and this may provide a potential explanation for why UK adults report
negative implicit and explicit attitudes about obesity as demonstrated in study 1. As noted
earlier, newspapers also promote the message that obesity is controllable and offer little in the
way of uncontrollable explanations such as genetic predisposition. Stronger controllability
beliefs are associated with anti-fat attitudes as demonstrated in study 1 and previous research
(e.g., Puhl et al., 2005), thus messages within newspaper portrayals that the condition is
controllable and a lack of attention to uncontrollable causes may serve to promote anti-fat
attitudes. As identified in study 1, there is also information reflecting the System Justification
Theory (Jost & Banaji, 1994) suggesting that the overweight and obese project anti-fat
157
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
attitudes and stigmatise their own groups. It is however impossible to be certain that the
media has had an effect on the perceptions recorded in study 1, but with the clear similarities
between findings, future research should tease out whether a causal relationship exists.
In response to question 2, the portrayal of obesity in tabloid and broadsheet newspapers was
relatively similar in terms of content; however, the amount of coverage of obesity in tabloid
newspapers was noticeably greater than in broadsheet newspapers, evident from the number
of articles dedicated to the condition. It would be plausible to expect newspapers to include
information that is relevant to their targeted audience. Carvalho and Burgess (2005) report
that tabloid newspapers tend to include populist topics such as obesity that are relevant to
their audiences, which are reportedly from a lower socio-economic background, which would
make sense given the higher prevalence of obesity in the lower socio-economic bracket
(Seidell, 2000; Stamatakis, Wardle, & Cole, 2010). Broadsheet newspapers on the other hand
tend to include political and economic topics (Carvalho & Burgess, 2005) with audiences
from a higher socio-economic status, thus given the lower expected prevalence of obesity in
this group (Seidell, 2000); the lesser attention to the condition evident in broadsheet
newspapers compared with tabloid newspapers would be expected.
In response to question 3 there is clear evidence of the Protestant Ethic values in newspaper
portrayals where the moralisation of obesity, projection that a lack of effort (slothfulness) and
self indulgence (gluttony) and the association of the condition with behaviours deemed to be
socially deviant are in abundance. Thus, readers may internalise these opinions in relation to
the condition and subsequently advocate them as personal beliefs. Finally, in response to
question 4, the causes of and solutions for obesity are presented on an intrapersonal level,
where individuals are reported to be personally responsible for their condition and solutions
158
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
involve the individual taking greater control over their sinful behaviours (i.e., low activity,
high consumption).
4.4.5 Implications and Future Research
The main implication of the findings is that negative portrayals of obesity are evident in the
UK newspaper portrayals of the condition. Consequently, if media messages such as those
discussed above are internalised and endorsed as person beliefs, then given the role of the
media informing and educating individuals, this may consequently promote anti-fat attitudes
and beliefs. This study provides valuable insight into the portrayal of overweight and obesity
in UK national newspapers and its consistency with UK adults’ perceptions of the condition
as demonstrated in study 1. Finally, with the noticeable emphasis placed on personal
responsibility for the incidence, prevalence and tackling of obesity evident in UK national
newspapers, an applied recommendation based on the present study findings would be to
reduce this emphasis and disperse the responsibility between agencies within society that
have been reported to play a major role, such as transport (Ludwig & Pollack, 2009) and fast
food chains (Currie, Della Vigna, Moretti, & Pathania, 2009; Maddock, 2004). The King’s
Fund Health Development Agency (2004) highlights the adverse effects of focusing on
personal responsibility and targeting interventions for obesity at an individual level,
suggesting that those of lower socio-economic backgrounds may perceive these messages as
a reflection of a nanny state and they may consequently have an adverse effect.
Statistics of UK newspaper readership suggest that more adults read regional newspapers
than national newspapers; 80.4% and 61% respectively. Thus, a greater proportion of the
population are exposed to regional newspapers, and interestingly, more older members of the
population read regional papers than younger members; 15-24 years (73.1%) 25-34 years
159
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
(78.4%), 35-44 years (78.8%), 45-54 years (83%), 55-64 years (83.4%), 65+ years (85.1%).
Thus the effect national and regional newspaper have is likely to affect individuals of
different ages based on their typical readership (http://www.mediauk.com), and future
research should examine the effect of regional and national newspapers on samples of
different age groups. The consistency between the results of the present study and those
reported in study 1, may reflect a greater likelihood of younger members of the population
reading national newspapers, as a high proportion of the sample in study 1 were younger
adults (18-35 years).
There is a lack of research examining the effects of media portrayal of obesity with only a
few studies to date (e.g., McClure et al., 2011). Thus research that examines the effect of
media portrayal appears warranted, given the increased attention paid to the condition and
reports of unrepresentative media coverage that does not reflect body sizes evident in society
(e.g., Fouts & Bougraff, 1999; Greenberg et al., 2003).
Finally, given the germane findings identified between the present study and those of study 1,
future research should directly examine the effects of exposure to media portrayals of obesity
on anti-fat attitudes to determine their effect. Acknowledging whether media portrayal alters
perceptions of obesity is important, as the links identified between media portrayal and antifat attitudes need confirmation. Recently McClure et al. (2011) provided the first study to
examine the influence of media perceptions on anti-fat attitudes. They reported an increase in
fat phobia when individuals were exposed to a news story accompanied by either a
stereotypical compared with a non-stereotypical image of an obese individual. Whilst
McClure et al. (2011) provide a useful initial study; this line of research requires substantially
160
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
more attention and the examination of non-manipulated exposure would provide a useful and
more ecologically valid insight into the effects of obesity portrayal in newspapers.
4.4.6 Limitations
A limitation of the current study was that three months into the data collection, an internet
database was used to analyse the newspapers, whereas previously hard copies were gathered.
This altered one of the original purposes of the study, which was to examine the size of
individuals pictured in newspapers to identify whether there is an accurate representation of
body sizes in society as research examining other media sources (e.g., television) has reported
an overrepresentation of underweight and normal weight body sizes, and underrepresentation
of overweight and obese characters (e.g., Greenberg et al., 2003). This does however present
a further research avenue, given the lack of newspaper portrayal examination. If a similar
distorted representation of body sizes in today’s society is revealed, this is likely to promote
the thin ideal and oppositely avoidance of obesity. Potentially this may have adverse effects
on the body image of those who perceive their body to be inadequate in relation to the
projected standards. It may also be revealed that overweight and obese individuals are
presented in a stereotypical fashion (e.g., eating) and therefore this would provide greater
evidence for the stigmatisation of obesity.
Furthermore, the online database was presented differently for hard copies of the newspapers.
In the online format, each story appeared on one page when selected as opposed to a given
section within a newspaper. This did not allow for an examination of the amount of space
allocated to coverage of obesity related issues and their location in the newspaper, which was
also an original intention of the study. One final limitation is that the primary researcher’s
existing knowledge may have affected the inductive analysis process, however, the final
161
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
analysis represents three researchers’ independent analyses which should reduce the potential
effect of the primary researcher’s existing knowledge having an effect.
This study does however have its strengths. It has previously been suggested that qualitative
research may lack rigour and that steps need to be taken to ensure that research is rigorous,
reliable and valid (Barbour, 2001; Morse, Barrett, Mayan, Olson, & Spiers, 2002;
Sandelowski, 1986). In fact, Morse et al. (2002) remark that qualitative researchers should
take responsibility by using strategies to ensure studies are reliable and valid, thus these
strategies shift the responsibility of incorporating and maintaining rigour from external
reviews to the investigating researchers. One such strategy employed in the present study was
to conduct a triangular consensus regarding data analysis, which Patton (1999) suggests
allows researchers to overcome scepticism that singular methods or lone analysts may be
criticised and reduce selection bias. Patton highlights the importance of gaining a triangular
consensus, where two or more independent analysts review the same qualitative data and
compare their findings, to check for selective perception and blind interpretive bias. This
strategy provides a reliability check where the consistency between analysts can be observed
(Barbour, 2001; Kassarjian, 1977). This study also used purposive sampling which Barbour
(2001) suggests has its advantages over other forms of sampling such as convenience
sampling, by increasing control and reducing the possibility of selection bias. Support for the
use of procedures employed here to ensure research rigor comes from Barbour (2001) who
also, suggests that whilst some procedures to ensure qualitative research are rigorous,
investigators should not use extensive lists of strategies as this is overly prescriptive, and may
be perceived as “the tail wagging the dog”.
162
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
4.5 Conclusion
It is clear from the results that obesity is receiving a lot of interest in UK national
newspapers, but also importantly the majority of articles report on controllable causes and
personal responsibility with suggestions that obesity is in line with deviant and immoral
behaviours, reflecting the core values of the Protestant Ethic. A number of references to
obesity are made by influential individuals such as politicians who express expressing their
views in these national newspapers that are read by millions of individuals every day. Thus,
the media provides a very powerful vehicle to project perceptions of obesity, which may lead
to the internalisation of these messages. The role played by the media is of critical
importance, as it is suggested that those with a belief that obesity is controllable are more
likely to have negative attitudes about the condition (Myers & Rosen, 1999; Puhl &
Brownell, 2005). Thus, by portraying the condition as within an individual’s control, the
media may have an important role in the formation, pervasiveness and perpetuation of anti-fat
attitudes.
Furthermore, the findings of the present study suggest that the perceived morality of obesity
may be a key contributor to perceptions of obesity and lend support for previous research
(e.g., Hoverd, 2005; Townsend, 2009) that suggests morals provide an explanation for the
development and maintenance of anti-fat attitudes. The findings of study 1 that UK adults
believe obesity is controllable is therefore not surprising, when the media project a message
that anyone can control their weight with the right lifestyle, consumption and exercise. Thus,
individuals have a responsibility and moral obligation to be healthy and therefore to engage
in behaviours that are perceived as imperative to healthy living (e.g., healthy eating).
163
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
The findings of this study provide a plausible explanation for why anti-fat attitudes are
evident in UK adults as demonstrated in study 1. The message that obesity is controllable is
consistently reported in the six national newspapers examined as part of this study with
evidence of anti-fat attitudes, obesity stigmatisation and associations of obesity with socially
deviant behaviours such as drug addiction. Furthermore, this pervasive message provides a
platform for central route processing which leads to more stable attitudes that are resistant to
change. Processing through the central route is likely to occur because of the abundance of
information that allows an individual to scrutinise and compare messages in other available
sources, develop favourable or unfavourable thoughts and to store these perceptions in
memory, becoming enduring and predictive of behaviour.
One final worrying recurrence that should be noted from this study relates to anti-fat attitudes
and discrimination; specifically newspapers show no inclination to condemn these attitudes
directed towards the overweight and obese. By reporting on these experiences and making no
attempts to deter individuals from engaging in a similar manner, the articles inadvertently
promote these attitudes and behaviours. Like other forms of media, newspapers need to take
responsibility for their actions especially considering their powerful position within society.
Although no such legislation currently exists in the UK in relation to discrimination towards
the obesity, unlike race and sex (The Equality Act, 2010), the Society of Professional
Journalists (2010) advocates the use of non-stereotypical portrayal suggesting that journalists
should “avoid stereotyping by race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, sexual
orientation, disability, physical appearance or social status” (p. 1). The present study
provides evidence that UK national newspapers do not adhere to this ethical standard and
therefore, on the basis of the negative effects of anti-fat attitudes and behaviour, the media
164
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
should also express disapproval when reporting on occurrences of prejudice and
discrimination towards the overweight and obese and itself should avoid such stereotyping.
With the constant messages in the media regarding the importance of body size and physical
appearance, it appears necessary to examine the effect of the media on self perceptions and
body image. Whilst obesity is stigmatised (study 2) and there is evidence of anti-fat attitudes
in society (study 1) it would be plausible to suggest that this would result in a greater desire
to avoid becoming overweight or obese and instead achieve the societal thin ideal.
Additionally, the findings of the present study are in line with previous research (e.g.,
Crandall, 1994; Hoverd, 2005; Hoverd & Sibley, 2007) that reports a relationship between
the Protestant Ethic values and the development of anti-fat attitudes, where the overweight
and obese become alienated in Western societies, affecting individuals’ participation in a
society that promotes thinness, beauty and health.
The findings of this research raise important questions that subsequent research should
attempt to address. First, with the increasing attention obesity is receiving, what effect do
media portrayals have on body image, a desire to achieve the ideal and eating attitudes and
behaviours? Second, is there an association between fat stigmatisation and the thin ideal?
Third, whether this is a unidirectional causal relationship where fat stigmatisation influences
the perceived thin ideal, or whether the two are reciprocally related.
It was anticipated that this study would provide a potential explanation for previous research
findings (e.g., Puhl & Brownell, 2006) that report individuals have anti-fat attitudes and
believe that obesity is controllable. Newspaper portrayals of obesity as controllable, of antifat attitudes and fat stigmatisation do present a plausible explanation for the anti-fat attitudes
165
NEWSPAPER PORTRAYAL OF OBESITY
reported in study 1, given the educating and informational role of the media. Additionally, by
determining that size bias is evident in influential media sources such as newspapers, this
might also explain why negative perceptions of obesity are so pervasive. However, this study
cannot indicate direct causality therefore future research is required that examines whether a
causal relationship exists between media portrayals of obesity and perceptions of this
condition.
166