The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #38502

Vicki L. Collie¹, Matthew W. Kreuter, PhD, MPH¹, Douglas Luke, PhD², and Charlene Caburnay, MPH¹. (1) Health Communication Research Laboratory, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Ave., St. Louis, MO 63104, 314/977-4036, collievl@slu.edu, (2) School of Public Health, Saint Louis University, 3545 Lafayette Ave., Saint Louis, MO 63104

According to the Surgeon General, obesity has reached epidemic proportions and may soon surpass cigarette smoking as the greatest cause of preventable disease and death. In 1999, 61% of American adults were overweight or obese, and 13% of children ages 6 to 15 were overweight. This research project seeks to explore the context in which obesity and weight loss are discussed in two mid-size media markets in Missouri. A content analysis of one year (6/1/99 – 5/31/00) of newspaper and television news stories on obesity and diet or physical activity was conducted to determine, when the chronic disease mentioned is obesity, whether recommendations were included in reference to weight loss, and/or diet/nutrition, physical activity, or both. Recommendations were defined as mentioning specific foods and serving sizes, or mentioning specific exercises and amount of time for exercise. Preliminary results indicate that less than one-third (30%) of obesity stories from television news included recommendations for diet, 37% included recommendations for physical activity, and 13.3% included recommendations for both. Newspaper stories on obesity were less likely than those on television to include recommendations -- 9.1% for diet, 50% for physical activity, and only 10% for both. These results indicate that television and newspaper stories on obesity are missing opportunities to educate the public on specific ways they can reduce or control their weight. The prospect exists for the public health community to collaborate with the media to increase and improve their coverage of obesity as a public health problem.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the context with which obesity is discussed in two mid-size market media.
• Compare and contrast the nature of obesity coverage between newsprint media and television news media.

Keywords: Media, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.