Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
Psychology Department, Durham University, Durham, UK.
Obes Rev. 2022 Dec;23(12):e13511. doi: 10.1111/obr.13511. Epub 2022 Oct 21.
Two thirds of women report experiencing weight stigma during pregnancy. Newspaper media is powerful in framing health issues. This review synthesized UK newspaper media portrayal of maternal obesity. NexisUni was searched to identify newspaper articles, published January 2010 to May 2021, reporting content on obesity during pregnancy. Framework synthesis integrated quantitative and qualitative analysis of the content of articles. There were 442 articles included (59% tabloids and 41% broadsheets). Three overarching themes with interacting sub-themes were as follows: (1) Women were blamed for their weight, risks, and NHS impact. (2) Women were solely responsible for solving obesity, gendered from school age. (3) Women with obesity were a burden on individuals (e.g., themselves, their children, and health professionals), to society, and the NHS. Catastrophizing language framed the "problem," "scale," and "public health concern" of maternal obesity, emphasizing risk, and danger and was alarmist, aggressive, and violent as to elicit fear or devalue women. Articles platformed 'expert' voices rather than women's lived experiences. This review identified that UK newspaper media negatively frames and oversimplifies the topic of maternal obesity. Exposure to blaming and alarmist messaging could increase women's guilt, stigma, and internalized weight bias. The newspaper media should be harnessed to de-stigmatize maternal obesity and promote maternal well-being.
三分之二的女性在怀孕期间经历过体重歧视。报纸媒体在构建健康问题方面具有强大的影响力。本综述综合了英国报纸媒体对孕产妇肥胖的描述。通过 NexisUni 搜索，确定了 2010 年 1 月至 2021 年 5 月期间报道与怀孕期肥胖相关内容的报纸文章。框架综合分析了文章内容的定量和定性分析。共纳入 442 篇文章（59%为小报，41%为大报）。有三个总体主题和相互作用的子主题如下：（1）女性因体重、风险和 NHS 影响而受到指责。（2）女性从学龄期开始就独自承担解决肥胖问题的责任，具有性别差异。（3）肥胖的女性是个人（如她们自己、她们的孩子和卫生专业人员）、社会和 NHS 的负担。将孕产妇肥胖的“问题”、“规模”和“公共卫生关注”描述为灾难性的语言，强调风险和危险，并危言耸听、咄咄逼人、极具攻击性，以引起恐惧或贬低女性。文章将“专家”的声音而不是女性的生活经历作为平台。本综述发现，英国报纸媒体对孕产妇肥胖问题进行了负面描述和过度简化。接触指责性和危言耸听的信息可能会增加女性的内疚感、耻辱感和内化的体重偏见。应该利用报纸媒体来消除孕产妇肥胖的耻辱感，促进孕产妇的幸福感。
