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Does this Tweet make me look fat? A content analysis of weight stigma on Twitter

Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity volume 21, pages 229–235 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

Weight stigma involves stereotyping individuals based on body size. Individuals with obesity face weight stigma in many areas of their lives, and consequences can include impairment of mental and physical health, relationships, and academic performance. Weight-stigmatizing messages are pervasive in mass media, but the degree and characteristics of its presence within new-media social environments remain comparatively unknown.

Methods

This study examined weight stigma on Twitter by coding Tweet content that included the word “fat” within a 4-h timeframe (N = 4596). Coding marked demographic characteristics represented in content, messages about weight, and perceived intent of the message.

Results

Of all messages, 56.57 % were negative and 32.09 % were neutral. Of those containing weight-stigmatizing messages (n = 529), themes relating to fatness included: gluttonous (48.58 %), unattractive (25.14 %), not sexually desirable (2.65 %), sedentary (13.80 %), lazy (5.86 %), and stupid (4.16 %).

Conclusions

Weight-stigmatizing messages are evident in the increasingly important arena of social media, and themes appear similar to those that emerge in other forms of media. Prevention and intervention body image programs should consider targeting social networks to help individuals manage societal messages.

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Notes

  1. All Tweets quoted in this manuscript were left intact without changes to grammar or content.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 301 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA

    Janet A. Lydecker

  2. Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA

    Janet A. Lydecker, Elizabeth W. Cotter, Allison A. Palmberg, Courtney Simpson, Melissa Kwitowski, Kelly White & Suzanne E. Mazzeo

  3. School of Education, Teaching, and Health, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20006, USA

    Elizabeth W. Cotter

Authors
  1. Janet A. Lydecker
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Correspondence to Janet A. Lydecker.

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On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human subjects according to the Office of Human Research Protections' definition of a human subject, § 45 CFR 46.102(f) (i.e., a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research obtains data through intervention or interaction with the individual, or identifiable private information), as all data were retrospective and non-identifiable.

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Cite this article

Lydecker, J.A., Cotter, E.W., Palmberg, A.A. et al. Does this Tweet make me look fat? A content analysis of weight stigma on Twitter. Eat Weight Disord 21, 229–235 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0272-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0272-x

Keywords

  • Weight stigma
  • Content analysis
  • Twitter
  • Social media
  • Prevention