Obesity Representations: An Analysis of Italian Newspapers' Coverage before and after COVID-19 and the Influence of Political Orientation.

IF 3.9 3区医学 Q2 ENDOCRINOLOGY & METABOLISM

Obesity Facts Pub Date : 2025-04-10 DOI:10.1159/000542544

Matteo Reho, Virginia Campedelli, Giorgio Veneziani, Federica Luciani, Alfonso Langella, Carlo Lai

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Introduction: A large body of literature has shown that media representations of obesity influence people's attitudes and contribute to weight stigma and discriminatory behaviors. The present study aimed to identify the representations of obesity in nine main Italian national newspapers and analyze how these representations varied before and after the COVID-19 lockdown (2016-2023), also in relation to the political orientation of the newspapers.

Methods: The Automated Co-occurrence Analysis for Semantic Mapping procedure (ACASM) was used to identify the themes. A t test and time series analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses.

Results: Findings showed that the selected Italian newspapers represented obesity according to five different themes labeled Wellness, Problem, Health, Nutrition, and Disease. It was found that the articles related to obesity increased after the lockdown. The Wellness and Health themes were found to be the more prevalent after the end of the emergency period. This result differed according to the newspapers' political orientation.

Conclusion: The findings suggest considering the representations that specific newspapers convey according to their political orientation in order to promote different narratives that could have a relevant impact on obesity.

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肥胖表征：新冠肺炎前后意大利报纸报道及政治取向影响分析

大量文献表明，媒体对肥胖的表述影响了人们的态度，助长了体重污名化和歧视行为。本研究旨在确定意大利九家主要全国性报纸对肥胖的描述，并分析这些描述在COVID-19封锁前后（2016-2023年）的变化，以及与报纸的政治取向有关。方法：采用语义映射自动共现分析法（ACASM）进行主题识别。采用t检验和时间序列分析对假设进行检验。结果：调查结果表明，选定的意大利报纸根据五个不同的主题来代表肥胖，分别是健康、问题、健康、营养和疾病。据调查，在封锁之后，与肥胖相关的文章有所增加。健康和保健主题在紧急时期结束后更为普遍。这一结果因报纸的政治倾向而有所不同。结论：研究结果建议考虑特定报纸根据其政治倾向传达的表述，以促进可能对肥胖产生相关影响的不同叙述。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Obesity Facts 医学-内分泌学与代谢

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

5.60%

发文量

审稿时长

6-12 weeks

期刊介绍： ''Obesity Facts'' publishes articles covering all aspects of obesity, in particular epidemiology, etiology and pathogenesis, treatment, and the prevention of adiposity. As obesity is related to many disease processes, the journal is also dedicated to all topics pertaining to comorbidity and covers psychological and sociocultural aspects as well as influences of nutrition and exercise on body weight. The editors carefully select papers to present only the most recent findings in clinical practice and research. All professionals concerned with obesity issues will find this journal a most valuable update to keep them abreast of the latest scientific developments.