The Canadian Obesity Network asks media to
refresh visuals with non-biased, respectful images of people living
with obesity to avoid stigmatizing portrayals
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 22, 2017 /CNW/ - The Canadian Obesity
Network, in partnership with Novo Nordisk Canada Inc., is calling
on Canadian media to re-examine how people living with obesity are
portrayed in news stories and to use non-biased, respectful
images.
Often, the media use images to accompany news stories that
depict people living with obesity from unflattering angles,
focusing on the abdomen or lower body with the head cut out of the
frame, and frequently consuming unhealthy food or engaged in
sedentary activity.1 Widespread use of these
stereotypical "fat-shaming" images can promote weight bias and
discrimination, a significant cause of distress in people living
with obesity.
"We want to work with the media to encourage a shift from the
use of imagery that depicts people living with obesity in a
negative light, to one that looks at the whole picture," said Dr.
Arya Sharma, Founder and Scientific
Director of the Canadian Obesity Network. "These body-focused
images can perpetuate negative stereotypes, and don't accurately
reflect the whole person; a person who has a life, accomplishments
and who is living with a chronic disease versus what many people
wrongly assume, a lifestyle choice."
Obesity is recognized by the Canadian Medical Association as a
chronic medical disease, which research has shown is caused by
a number of risk factors, including genetics, physical activity,
diet, socioeconomic status, ethnicity, immigration and
environmental factors.2,3 Yet misperceptions persist.
One survey found that a majority of Canadians (86 per cent) believe
that personal choice about physical activity and food intake is a
leading cause of obesity and more than half (55 per cent) believe
that people living with obesity lack
self-discipline.4
"We know that 'fat-shaming' or criticizing people about their
weight or eating habits can cause people who are overweight or
living with obesity to eat more calories and gain more weight,"
said Dr. Michael Vallis, Lead,
Behaviour Change Institute. "People are more motivated by positive
encouragement, rather than negative stereotyping. Seeing negative
stereotypes perpetuated in the media can only hurt efforts made by
people living with obesity to achieve successful weight management.
These biases also make people with obesity vulnerable to major
psychological distress."
The Canadian Obesity Network is urging media to refresh their
stock photos and images with accurate, non-biased and respectful
depictions of people living with obesity, and to adopt new
guidelines that encourage the use of the following, among others:
- Images showing people engaged in normal, non-sedentary
lifestyle activities that do not only revolve around eating and
food;
- Images that depict educated and employed individuals;
- Images depicting a neutral stance, free of additional
characteristics that might otherwise perpetuate weight-based
stereotypes.5
"As a person living with obesity, when I see stories in the news
about weight or obesity – and some of these stories can be quite
positive in nature – I quickly become disheartened because the
story is often accompanied by images of people with no heads, only
abdomens, eating a huge plate of food," said Brian Meloche. "I don't see myself that way and
I don't want others to see me that way. I am a person with skills,
accomplishments, and a full life. The media can do a great deal to
support people living with obesity by using images that break away
from stereotypes."
To help journalists when covering obesity-related topics, the
Canadian Obesity Network has developed an image bank available at:
obesitynetwork.ca/images-bank. Other image banks media can use are
available from The UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity,
The Obesity Action Coalition and the World Obesity Federation.
About Obesity
Obesity is a condition that is
associated with serious comorbidities, including hypertension, type
2 diabetes, overproduction or deficiency of fats in the blood,
certain types of cancer and a decreased life expectancy. The risk
of illness and death increases with the severity of the condition.
It is a complex and multi-factorial disease that is influenced by
genetics, physiological, environmental and psychological
factors.3 Body Mass Index (BMI) is a method of measuring
obesity at the population level; however, at the individual level,
it does not indicate the disease of obesity, which is clinically
defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that impairs
health. BMI is calculated by dividing an individual's weight
(kilograms) by height (metres) squared, though BMI numbers are
widely considered demeaning to the struggle people with obesity go
through on a daily basis.
The global increase in the prevalence of obesity is a public
health issue that has severe health and social implications for
Canadians affected by the disease. In Canada, based on population level BMI
measurements, approximately 25 per cent of adults,3
equivalent to approximately 6.5 million people, could be affected
by obesity.
About the Canadian Obesity Network
The
Canadian Obesity Network - Réseau canadien en obésité (CON-RCO) is
Canada's largest professional
obesity association for health professionals, researchers, policy
makers and obesity stakeholders, with 12,000+ members. CON-RCO
works to address the social stigma associated with obesity, change
the way policy makers and health professionals approach obesity and
improve access to evidence-based prevention and treatment
resources. www.obesitynetwork.ca
About Novo Nordisk
Novo Nordisk Canada Inc. is an
affiliate of Novo Nordisk A/S, a global healthcare company with
more than 90 years of innovation and leadership in diabetes care
and an unwavering commitment to driving change to defeat diabetes.
This heritage has given Novo Nordisk the experience and
capabilities to help people defeat other serious chronic
conditions: hemophilia, growth disorders and obesity.
The Missing the Picture Tumblr page was developed by
the Canadian Obesity Network and Novo Nordisk Canada Inc.
References
________________________________
1
Rebecca M. Puhl PhD. Weight bias in the news media and public
health campaigns: are we fighting obesity or obese persons? Rudd
Center for Food Policy and Obesity.
http://www.uconnruddcenter.org/files/Pdfs/Weight_Stigma_in_News_Media_and_Public_Health_Efforts_to_Address_Obesity_Presentation_2013.pdf.
Accessed February 2017.
2 Canadian Medical Association. (2015). CMA recognizes
obesity as a disease.
https://www.cma.ca/En/Pages/cma-recognizes-obesity-as-a-disease.aspx.
Accessed February 2017.
3 Public Health Agency of Canada. Obesity in Canada: A Joint Report from the Public Health
Agency of Canada and the Canadian
Institute for Health Information.
https://secure.cihi.ca/free_products/Obesity_in_canada_2011_en.pdf.
Accessed February 2017.
4 Leger Obesity Survey, May
15-May 20, 2015.
5 World Obesity Image Bank. Obesity Photography Guide.
http://www.imagebank.worldobesity.org/guidelines. Accessed
February 2017.
SOURCE Canadian Obesity Network