The Influences of Mass Media on Health Trends

Media is everywhere. Television, newspaper, cell phones, movies, as well as numerous other sources. Today, just about everyone depends on information and communication to keep their lives moving through daily activities. We need to be aware that the values we hold, the beliefs we harbor and the decisions we make are based on our assumptions, our experiences, our education and what we know for a fact. Mass media is relied on for the current news and facts about what is important and what we should be aware of. Media is considered a trustworthy source for news, information, education and entertainment. Though someone has to have thought behind an issue to write it.

It being the leading source of news since the printing press. We put our faith in the media to report accurate facts unbiasedly. Between 1983 and now the media industry has consolidated from 50 individual companies to 6. That means that though the impression given is that there are a multitude of sources to attain information, the messages being communicated are all one in the same. The limitation of media sources cause a ripple effect of limited information, allowing these companies to control the public’s perception on

According to Ann Marie Paulin in “Cruelty, Civility and Other Weighty Matters”, the mass media are discriminating against overweight people, which creates a society where being fat is looked down upon. Paulin argues that, “the media are notorious for getting things less than accurate” (243), therefore we shouldn’t believe how they depict fat people on tv, magazines and other media sources. The author believes that not all overweight people are like, how the media portrays them, but rather their lifestyle is influenced by the culture we live in. She claimed that, “Sugary or fatty foods are often available in grab and go packages that are so much easier to take to work or eat in the car than making a healthy snack” (245). She believe there are evidence to show that humans are naturally attracted to unhealthy foods, but society continue to manufacture them to make people eat more (243-249). I agree with Paulin about how the media need to stop fat shaming because it’s not only making people feel bad, but it is promoting obesity.

The mass media has become a big part of our society and its counterparts. In a time span of 50 years this medium has influenced society to an extent where it has created wonders. This immaculate tool can control almost every action we perform, from speaking to the actions that every human being performs in society. The mass media has brought upon a new era of idea's and changes in the world we live in. As we analysis media in depth we will find many aspects of media which overlap and some of the smallest factors and aspects of media, which create the biggest impact on society.

Is obesity really a serious health concern or is the “epidemic” merely a result of highly fabricated, misleading ideas of politicians and the media? The article, Obesity: An Overblown Epidemic? By W. Wayt Gibbs featured in the May 23, 2005 edition of Scientific America, raises this question. Most health experts and average people believe that obesity is one of the most prevalent health concerns today, resulting in increased risk for other major health issues; such as; heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, and the chance for early loss of life. However, other researchers are suggesting that the consequences of being overweight are being blown out of proportion. Naturally, they do

It’s almost impossible to hide from the news and discussion about the obesity epidemic that’s taking both lives and shattering the quality of life world wide. It’s in the papers, on television and being blogged about on the internet almost endlessly.

Obesity is a constantly growing issue in the world, but mostly saturated in the United States. As the amount of people with extreme obesity increase rapidly are increasing as well. People with morbid to severe obesity often experience physical and psychological distress, and limitations with daily life activities. Stigma and the visibility of obesity is a huge issue in our society, media portrayal of obesity and popular culture are also contributors and how obese individuals are viewed.

Everyone cares about looks and fitness. Ironically the obese rate is ever increasing, but who is to blame? According to Inga Kiderra in her article “Obesity is Socially Contagious” believes that the people we associate ourselves with determine our overall health. However, David K. Li in his article “NJ Woman Attempting to be the Worlds Fattest” writes about a New Jersey woman whom is driven by fame in her effort to be the world’s heaviest women. Yet, David Zinczenko in his article “Don’t Blame the Eater” explains that it is fast food corporations that are making people obese. Being obese has many factors, but these ideas more closely relate to the majority of people. I agree that our social life, societal pressures, and social life paradigms influence the, obesity problem in the United States.

It’s estimated that nearly 1/3 of people suffer from obesity in North America. Rather than being a part of the solution, the media has a portrayal of what one should and should not look like, what is beautiful and what is not, typically possessing unrealistic standards and showing those that are overweight, as weak-willed individuals, who generally are blue collared individuals. This paper shall discuss obese individuals and how they are portrayed on television or on online streaming programming. Secondly, this paper shall discuss why this group has such a negative portrayal. Third, this paper will discuss what social pressures and production forces shape these portrayals. Finally, this paper will incorporate a media theory and explain what effects it has on the audiences and how obese individuals are typically treated in society.

They argue that many public health campaigns have made the problem of obesity worse by minimizing how difficult it is for individuals to lose weight. This book challenges governments to abandon top-down planning solutions in favor of bottom-up innovations to confront the obesity crisis. From XXL, the section that speaks of all the risk involved with being obese is the perspective used in this report. It recalls various facts helpful to readers so they can understands what is behind the struggles of obesity. These facts include the approximate death a year in the United States, the various illnesses and disabilities of obesity, how bullying affects the obese individual, etc. XXL is a great source of information for anyone looking to research

In the American culture, obesity is seen as a bodily abnormality and deviance that should be corrected. Obesity has indeed become one of the most stigmatizing bodily characteristics in our culture (Brink, 1994). In the Western culture, thinness does not just mean the size of the

It was found that at each hour of TV watched by a 5-year-old child their chances of obesity would rise by 7%. Whilst studying 8000 children who had watched 8 or more hours per week, all age 3 it was found that by the time all those children were aged 7, every single one of them were at higher risk than average of obesity. (Pediatrics, 2011). Television on its own shows from 4400 to 7600 fast food commercials a day. Those statistics don’t include what is shown in magazine, billboards and so on. The number of health promoting adverts shown is 165 a day its no wonder today’s children are at higher risk. Speaking of which, the number of children under 5 effected worldwide by obesity found in 2013 was an astonishing 42 million. Its predicted that by 2025 this number will rise to a huge 70 million. (Bupa,2016) The media has fooled people the way never use overweight or unhealthy looking people In adverts, how often do we see obese people on our televisions? Especially when we are trying to be sold something. More often than not in movies fat people are portrayed as unattractive and unpopular and the laughing stock. Society seems to find it difficult to sympathise with obesity as a disease as many see it as self-inflicted issue. (Teaching tolerance, 2016). ) it was found that by 2006, obesity was responsible for 10 percent of media

What this research study wanted to determine was whether or not the impact of positive media images of overweight people would reduce the bias of overweight and obese people being unhealthy. Researchers hypothesized that positive media images of obese people would close the gap between social distance and acceptance as well as reduce negative thoughts about those who are overweight. Participants in this study were recruited through an online survey that was conducted by Yale School of Management. Participants were not separated during the survey. The procedure was that the survey used four images, one of an obese Caucasian and African American woman in a

Media influence is the force by which ideas are injected into people’s lives shaping the very culture of society. This influence is masqueraded through hidden media message, resulting in a change in its audience which can be positive or negative, abrupt or gradual, short term or long term. Although mass media’s influential effect can reach a wide ranged audience as an agent of socialization the responsibility to contain what it releases has not been of importance. “The media’s socially significant obligations are formally ignored.” (A.S. Zapesotskii, 2011, p 9). Media messages can be exerted through many different outlets such as TV shows, music, movies, commercials, news, magazines, games which are all gravitated to entertain audiences ultimately offering personal gratification that can sometimes blur the lines between reality and

In the modern age, in which the Mass media is so influential, it has become an effective tool for “informing” the public. However, this information is not just facts. This information comes with values injected into it, either from the network itself or the people giving the news. Media