Newspaper media framing of maternal obesity in the UK: a review and framework synthesis

Abstract

BackgroundNews media is powerful at framing health, shaping public perceptions and demand for policy. The effects of news media include perpetuating obesity discrimination, which threatens public health. Two-thirds of pregnant women report experiencing bodyweight-related stigma. The aim of this review was to explore the portrayal of maternal obesity in UK newspaper outlets. MethodsNexisUni was searched for newspaper articles published between Jan 1, 2010, and May 31, 2021, reporting content on obesity during pregnancy. Articles were screened against inclusion criteria. Integrated quantitative and qualitative analytics supported a novel framework synthesis to characterise the content of the articles. Findings442 articles were included: 261 (59%) published in tabloids and 181 (41%) in broadsheets. We identified three overarching themes: blame; responsibility; and burden of women with obesity. Subthemes were health outcomes (primarily of the infants); impact on the UK National Health Service (NHS); causes of and solutions for obesity; and calls for action. Women were blamed for their bodyweight, pregnancy risks, and NHS care requirements. Solutions were framed as the woman's responsibility to reduce her own and future generations' bodyweight, prevent adverse pregnancy outcomes, and alleviate the burden on the NHS. The burden of maternal obesity was consistently placed on women, as a burden on individuals (ie, themselves, their children, and health professionals), society, and the NHS. Patterns in language framed the so-called problem and scale of maternal obesity, emphasised risk and danger, and were alarmist, aggressive, and violent. Articles platformed purported experts' voices, such as professional organisations representatives, rather than women's lived experiences. The article narratives were underpinned by oversimplifications of obesity development, weight management, and causal pathways to health outcomes. InterpretationUK newspapers negatively frame and oversimplify maternal obesity. Exposure to blaming and alarmist messaging could increase women's guilt and internalised weight bias, which can harm maternal and child physical and mental health during this life phase. The newspaper media should instead be harnessed to destigmatise maternal obesity, promote maternal wellbeing, and improve public health. The interdisciplinary, multinational research team and novel, rigorous methods are strengths of this review. A limitation is the focus on article texts but not on accompanying images. FundingNone.