Glenn N M, Champion C C, Spence J C
Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Clin Obes. 2012 Oct;2(5-6):125-31. doi: 10.1111/cob.12000. Epub 2012 Nov 20.
The media has the ability to affect public opinion and policy direction. Prevalence of morbid obesity in Canada is increasing; as is the only effective long-term treatment, weight loss surgery (WLS). Limited research has explored media re/presentations of WLS. The purpose of this study was to examine national online news coverage (and reader comments) of WLS using content analysis. We sought to understand the dominant messages being conveyed within the news texts and reader comments, specifically whose voice was represented, who was the intended audience and what was the overall tone. Articles and comments were retrieved from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation news web site and analysed using line-by-line techniques. Articles were predominantly 'positive/supportive' (63%) in tone and frequently presented the voices and opinions of 'experts' conveying a biomedical perspective. Comments were overwhelmingly 'negative' (56%) and often derogatory including such language as 'piggy' and 'fatty'. Comments were almost exclusively anonymous (99%) and were frequently directed at other commenters (33%) and 'fat' people (6%). The potentially problematic nature of media framing and reader comments, particularly as they could relate to weight-based stigmatization and discrimination is discussed.
媒体有能力影响公众舆论和政策方向。加拿大病态肥胖的患病率在上升；唯一有效的长期治疗方法——减肥手术（WLS）的情况也是如此。对减肥手术的媒体再现/呈现进行的研究有限。本研究的目的是通过内容分析来审视减肥手术的全国性在线新闻报道（以及读者评论）。我们试图了解新闻文本和读者评论中传达的主要信息，特别是代表了谁的声音、目标受众是谁以及整体基调是什么。文章和评论从加拿大广播公司新闻网站上检索，并使用逐行分析技术进行分析。文章的基调主要是“积极/支持”（63%），并经常呈现传达生物医学观点的“专家”的声音和意见。评论绝大多数是“负面的”（56%），且常常带有贬损性，包括“胖猪”和“胖子”等用语。评论几乎完全是匿名的（99%），并且经常针对其他评论者（33%）和“肥胖”人群（6%）。本文讨论了媒体框架和读者评论可能存在的问题性质，尤其是它们可能与基于体重的污名化和歧视有关的问题。
