Monday, June 08, 2009

Media chastised for not enough fatism?


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Nope, it's not happening in Bizarro-world, but certainly you'd never see this in North America!

It's an article from a Dubai newspaper detailing the "flaying" of their media for not doing enough to dispel the

"deep-rooted misconceptions about excessive weight being an indicator of good health"
by the combined forces of their Ministry of Health and UNICEF.

Contrast that with North America and Europe where you'd be hard pressed to find a non-negative portrayal of obesity in the press or elsewhere. In fact just this past year alone the press has managed to "link" obesity with global warming, rising fuel prices and contagion (the message being don't hang out with fat folks or you're liable to get fat too).

I wonder what Dubai would make of the recent paper published last month in Obesity authored by Rebecca Puhl and Chelsea Howard who cover the stigma associated with obesity. Sadly their paper clocks in at a meaty 24 pages and covers the negative bias seen in:

  • Health Care Settings (including doctors, nurses, dietitians, medical students, and fitness trainers).
  • Educational Settings
  • Interpersonal Relationships
  • Entertainment Media
  • News Media
  • Advertisers

    And then they cover the unfortunately devastating impact this has on the obese.

    If I can give Dubai some words of advice - be careful what you wish for.

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