Peter Christina, Brosius Hans-Bernd
Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Oettingenstr. 67, 80538, München, Deutschland.
Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2021 Jan;64(1):55-61. doi: 10.1007/s00103-020-03256-y. Epub 2020 Dec 4.
Eating disorders are among the most common psychosomatic illnesses in Western societies. For some time now, the media have been blamed as one of the potential triggers of problematic eating behavior. Several studies have shown that the media convey an unrealistic ideal of beauty and that this can cause dissatisfaction with one's own body, especially among young recipients. However, two central aspects have not yet been thoroughly considered. First, there is a lack of research that focuses on people actually affected by an eating disorder and that considers the role of the media in the development, progression, and coping phase of an eating disorder. Second, there is hardly any research on how and to what extent the disease itself is addressed in the media and how such representations influence the affected group - in communication research, this is referred to as reciprocal effects. Based on previous research in this area, it can be assumed that the perception of how one's own illness is portrayed in the media can have consequences for the self-perception, well-being, and actions of ill persons. This article provides an overview of the complex role of the media in the context of an eating disorder and, above all, highlights gaps in communication research on the topic.
饮食失调是西方社会最常见的身心疾病之一。一段时间以来，媒体一直被指责为引发问题饮食行为的潜在因素之一。多项研究表明，媒体传递了一种不切实际的美的理想形象，这可能导致人们对自己的身体不满，尤其是年轻受众。然而，有两个核心方面尚未得到充分考虑。首先，缺乏针对实际受饮食失调影响的人群的研究，也没有考虑媒体在饮食失调的发展、进展和应对阶段所起的作用。其次，几乎没有研究探讨媒体如何以及在多大程度上报道这种疾病本身，以及这种呈现方式如何影响受影响群体——在传播研究中，这被称为相互影响。基于该领域以前的研究，可以假设，人们对媒体如何描绘自己疾病的认知可能会对患病者的自我认知、幸福感和行为产生影响。本文概述了媒体在饮食失调背景下的复杂作用，最重要的是，突出了关于该主题的传播研究中的空白。
