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Nutrition Messages in Mainstream and Ethnic Minority Women's Magazines Over Three Decades: A Content Analysis
Author(s) -
Landman Rissa,
Yeh MingChin,
Keeney Melissa,
Leung May May,
Navder Khursheed
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.625.1
Subject(s) - mainstream , theme (computing) , ethnic group , limiting , consumption (sociology) , dietary fiber , medicine , serving size , index (typography) , content analysis , advertising , gerontology , sociology , social science , political science , food science , environmental health , law , business , engineering , operating system , mechanical engineering , chemistry , world wide web , computer science
Objective Editorial content in mainstream (Glamour) and ethnic minority (Essence) women's magazines was examined to identify trends and compare nutrition and health‐related messages to dietary recommendations. Methods Four years in each decade (1980s, 1990s, 2000s) and three issues in each year were examined for both magazines. Editorial content focusing on food, nutrition, and physical activity was included. Messages were tallied for each theme for each decade. A percentage was calculated for each theme to compare the two magazines. Inter‐rater reliability index of 0.96 was obtained using the coefficient of agreement. Results Glamour was more likely to advise about caloric counting and restriction than Essence across all decades (18.1 vs.12.5%, 21.1 vs. 2.3%, 27.8% vs. 4.2%). In the first two decades, Essence was more likely to write about dietary fiber and whole grains than Glamour (18.8 vs. 11.1%, 13.9 vs. 7.9%). During the 2000s, Glamour covered the topic more often (14.8%) than Essence (4.2%). Both magazines emphasized proper nutrition messages, such as consuming adequate fiber and fruit and vegetable intake, moderating fat intake and limiting saturated fat consumption. Conclusions Despite slight differences in theme emphasis, the magazines appear to be an acceptable source of nutrition information that is in line with dietary recommendations. No funding to disclose.