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Weight of tradition: culture as a rationale for obesity in contemporary U . S . news coverage
Author(s) -
Shugart H. A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
obesity reviews
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.845
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1467-789X
pISSN - 1467-7881
DOI - 10.1111/obr.12043
Subject(s) - mainstream , extant taxon , obesity , relation (database) , sociology , political science , medicine , law , biology , pathology , database , evolutionary biology , computer science
Summary In studies of mediated representations of obesity to date, the overwhelming majority have found predominant a personal responsibility frame, specifically as drawn against environmental frames, which are nonetheless gaining ground in recent years. In this essay, I review that extant literature and seek to trouble the binary by isolating national news coverage of obesity in two historically and culturally specific regions of the U nited S tates that are regularly referenced in relation to the issue: the S outh and the M idwest. I evaluate the key characterizations of obesity and obese individuals in these regions in mainstream national news coverage between J anuary 2009 and D ecember 2012 in order to assess whether, how, and to what extent personal responsibility or environmental frames are invoked in this coverage. I argue that ‘culture’ appears to be gaining traction as an emergent discourse for obesity, which may appear to offer a more complex or nuanced explanation of the issue; however, this analysis suggests that it can be taken up in ways that feature troubling implications and consequences.