Inclusive public health messaging for obesity and eating disorders
This project will review the inclusive public health messaging for obesity and eating disorders.
1 July 2022
Background
The prevention and management of obesity requires population changes in diet, including overall energy reduction. An important part of current public health messaging about obesity therefore focuses on calorie guidelines/restrictions.
There is growing concern among EDs professionals and advocates that current public health messaging about obesity – especially the focus on calorie counting – is inadvertently increasing disordered eating behaviours and cognitions, especially among vulnerable groups. The specific impact of current obesity public health messaging on adults’ and children’s risk for EDs is not known.
Methodology
We will conduct focus group interviews with adults to:
- Gain insights into how public health messaging around obesity may be contributing to obesity-prevention behaviours, disordered eating, and weight stigma
- Identify how obesity messaging can be made more ‘EDs friendly’ and inclusive, while also supporting obesity prevention and management
We will conduct focus groups with children to understand:
- The range of messages that children are exposed to, and
- How children understand and interpret messaging about healthy weight and healthy eating.
Timing
- December 2023
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The NIHR Policy Research Unit in Healthy Weight is part of the NIHR and hosted by UCL.