NEW REPORT BY MEDIA EMPATHY FOUNDATION REVEALS DISPARAGING WEIGHT STIGMA ACROSS ALL POPULAR MEDIA CHANNELS

Deborah Roberts (Senior National Affairs Correspondent for ABC News), Mike Paseornek (Founder, Lionsgate Motion Picture Production), David Sloan (Senior Executive Producer ABC Primetime), Jeff Mahshie (Creative Director, Donna Karan), Orlando Reece (VP/Category Development Officer, TelevisaUnivision), Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford (Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital), Dr. Rebecca Puhl (University of Connecticut, Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health) and Patricia Nece (Chair, Obesity Action Coalition) will join a Panel Discussion Calling for Increased Respect and Representation of People of Diverse Body Sizes Across Film, TV, News and Advertising

NEW YORK, June 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Media Empathy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a unified voice to foster a culture of empathy and support for people struggling to overcome disease-related stigma, will uncover the issues of weight stigma in mainstream media in the upcoming Spotlight on Weight Stigma report and panel discussion.

The "Spotlight on Weight Stigma'' report outlines the prevalent forms of weight stigma across all major media channels, including entertainment film and television, news media, advertising, magazines, and social media. The report, which draws on over two decades of peer-reviewed research, reveals the disturbing persistence of the negative portrayal of people with a higher body weight. In children's programming, nearly 75% of characters with a higher body weight are portrayed as evil, unattractive, unfriendly, or cruel.

"One of the most shocking findings of this report was how prevalent weight stigma is from the very first media our children view," said Helene Ellison, President and Founder of the Media Empathy Foundation. "Even more alarming was that these negative portrayals are increasing across multiple media platforms, which speaks to persistent societal blame that is learned from a very young age.  We believe we can begin to shape a different kind of culture by having conversations and discussing solutions."

On June 29^th, the Media Empathy Foundation is hosting a first-of-its-kind panel discussion addressing weight stigma in popular culture and media. Moderated by renowned journalist and Senior National Affairs Correspondent for ABC News Deborah Roberts, the panelists include Mike Paseornek (Founder, Lionsgate Motion Picture Productions), David Sloan (Senior Executive Producer ABC Primetime), Jeff Mahshie (Creative Director, Donna Karan), Orlando Reece (VP/Category Development Officer, TelevisaUnivision), Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford (Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital), Dr. Rebecca Puhl (University of Connecticut, Rudd Center for Food Policy & Health) and Patricia Nece (Chair, Obesity Action Coalition). The panel will address the disparaging, hurtful and harmful portrayal of people with a higher body weight across all media channels and explore solutions for a more inclusive future.

"The media has a profound influence in shaping public attitudes about body weight, and content creators have an important opportunity to combat harmful weight stigma and social discrimination," said Professor Rebecca Puhl, who is a researcher at the University of Connecticut and a leading global expert in weight bias. "Implementing change in the media is fundamental in efforts to create a society where people of all body sizes are treated with respect and dignity."

Dr. Fatima Cody Stanford, a leading obesity medicine physician-scientist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, said: "The greatest harm is for people to avoid regular medical checkups and not get the medical attention they need and deserve due to stigma or judgment. There are many factors which make obesity a complex, progressive disease and there is no shame in seeking help.  Let's start by eliminating the word 'obese,' a word that defines an individual and begin referring to people as 'living with obesity.' Together, we can recognize stigmatizing narratives and be compassionate to people of all sizes."

Additional takeaways from the report, which will be discussed in the upcoming panel, include:

• Stereotypically portraying people with higher body weight as lazy, undisciplined, and over-indulgent reinforces societal weight stigma.
• The dehumanization of people with higher body weight can be seen across all layers of weight stigma and media channels – from 'fat jokes' and dehumanizing graphics to operating room exposés and headless close-ups. These portrayals strip people with a higher body weight of their humanity and dignity.
• Although social media has provided new avenues for a diverse range of perspectives to be shared and heard, when these views are not reflected in mainstream media, their voices remain marginalized, discredited, and hindered in their ability to extend their reach to the public.
• While we are seeing an increase in more positive portrayals of people with a higher body weight, most of these portrayals continue to reinforce a narrative that only some bodies are acceptable, having to prove their worth along gendered, classed, and racial lines.

The report was conducted by Dr. Kirsten Ellison on behalf of the Media Empathy Foundation and involved a systematic review of academic research published between 2000 and 2022 that examines the content and prevalence of weight stigma in popular media. A total of 91 peer-reviewed studies were examined, including 18 quantitative and 73 qualitative studies.

The Media Empathy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to drive a change in culture, conversations, and perceptions that stigmatize people who are identified with any one of many health and medical conditions, and none more so than obesity. Our mission is to drive a change in culture, conversation, and perceptions around stigmatized diseases and remove barriers to care for those affected.

This initiative is made possible through the support of Novo Nordisk Inc.

For more information, please visit www.mediaempathy.org and connect with us on Twitter and Linkedln. 

SOURCE Media Empathy Foundation