Obesity researchers from Yale University say that online news outlets overwhelmingly use negative images of overweight people — in ill-fitting clothes or eating fast food — to illustrate stories about obesity. The practice perpetuates fat stigma, the researchers say, and may contribute to obesity itself. For the new study, the researchers looked at 429 news stories about obesity, along with their accompanying photos, published on five major news websites. Of the photos depicting overweight or obese people, the study found, 72% portrayed them “in a negative, stigmatizing manner.” More than half of overweight people were shown in headless body shots, pictures that centered unflatteringly on the abdomen or lower body — compared with thin subjects, the overweight were 23 times more likely to have their heads cut out of photos. Obese people were also significantly more likely to be pictured from the side or rear, unclothed or in slovenly attire, eating unhealthy food and being lazy. (More on TIME.com: In Social Networks, Obesity is Contagious) Although the news stories focused largely on reducing the obesity epidemic, the images that went with them had the opposite effect, the study’s authors say. “Research shows that people who read a news story about obesity that is paired with a stigmatizing photograph subsequently express higher levels of weight bias than do those who read the same news story about obesity paired with a nonstigmatizing photograph,” the authors, from the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, write. As these negative images and attitudes become more common, they reinforce certain broader perceptions about the overweight — for instance that obesity ought to be blamed on failings of the individual, rather than on environmental and societal problems. In turn, social stigma threatens obese people with depression and low self-esteem. And those who view negative media images may themselves internalize harmful weight-based stereotypes, further worsening their mental health. That may trigger overeating, inactivity and weight gain, the authors say. (More on TIME.com: Why Seeing Overweight People Makes Us Eat More Not Less) The public-health impact of stigmatizing … Continue reading Fat Stigma: How Online News May Worsen the Problem of Obesity