Obesity and the Media

If you haven't seen an article (or two or three) on the "obesity epidemic" in the past month, then you've probably been living in a bubble. The so-called "obesity epidemic" is generating quite a media buzz, and has been for the past ten years or so. The health risks associated with being overweight are shoved down our throats on a daily basis through various means: TV commercials, magazines, newspapers, TV news, talk shows, on cereal boxes, on a large percentage of diet or low-fat food. While obesity and the large percentage of people overweight is certainly a big issue, I can't help but see some prejudice here, in both the way this issue is addressed and the sheer volume of media coverage it gets.

It's quite obvious that the illnesses and ailments in our society that are less socially acceptable are presented as being worse than they actually are, with little sympathy given to the sufferer. On the other hand, illnesses and ailments that are more socially acceptable are treated with a more sympathetic tone. The bulk of the information that we are presented with about various illnesses and ailments exist so that we can take steps to stay healthy and prevent them from happening to us. I would define a "less socially acceptable" illness as one which the sufferer ostensibly has control over the situation and has brought on the condition him or herself by her lifestyle. Further, these activities are looked down upon by society.

I'll stop being vague and use some examples. Most of the articles I have read about obesity or TV broadcasts I have seen attribute this problem to people simply over-eating and not controlling their intake properly. Gluttony is looked down upon. Being fat is looked down upon. So people who suffer from obesity or even those who are slightly overweight receive little sympathy from the media and are constantly reminded of how unhealthy they are do to their weight. Very rarely do the media focus on individuals who are naturally overweight or have a physiological reason for being obese. Not to mental mental disorders such as compulsive over eating. Yes, being overweight poses health risks. But are these risks so dire that we need to be reminded of them every time we open the newspaper or turn on the TV?

Let's contrast this with skin cancer. Skin cancer is usually caused by prolonged exposure to the sun. People who tan often are more at risk for skin cancer, just as people who eat larger quantities of food are more at risk for obesity and its associated health risks. True, there are fewer people who suffer from skin cancer than who suffer from obesity. However, having skin cancer poses a much greater health risk than being overweight does. I have never seen the media shake their finger at people for staying out in the sun the way they do towards overweight people. Which is where the prejudice comes in. Being tan is seen as being attractive in our society, so there isn't as huge of a push to stop people from tanning. But being overweight is seen as being ugly in our society, and there is a huge push to get people to lose weight. It seems as if someone suffering from skin cancer would get much more sympathy than someone suffering from heart problems or Type 2 Diabetes to due his/her weight.

Another socially unacceptable condition is having an STD. The name itself, including the word "Disease" indicates how much these things are looked down upon. When I think of "disease", I think of something that is deadly and cannot be cured. The only STD that falls into this category is HIV. The large majority of STDs can be cured, and even if they can't, they certainly aren't deadly, as the word "disease" would imply. It's not socially acceptable to have an STD because it implies that you actually have sex, which is still somewhat of a taboo subject in our society. No matter how mild the symptoms may be or how minimal the STD may be to your overall health, the media perceives STDs as the ultimate evil. On the other hand, a yeast infection or a Urinary tract infection with similar physical symptoms is socially okay. There isn't a huge push to educate yourself on how to prevent yeast infections or UTIs. But look inside any Seventeen Magazine and you'll get a detailed run down of all the STDs, how awful they are, and how to prevent them.

People suffering from the less socially acceptable conditions like obesity or STDs get very little sympathy and are held fully accountable for their health problems. The health risks of these conditions are highly exaggerated in the media especially in comparison to the risks of more socially acceptable conditions.