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Weight stigma and narrative resistance evident in online discussions of obesity

Overview of attention for article published in Appetite, October 2013
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  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (73rd percentile)
  • Average Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source

Mentioned by

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5 X users
facebook
2 Facebook pages

Citations

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67 Dimensions

Readers on

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207 Mendeley
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Title
Weight stigma and narrative resistance evident in online discussions of obesity
Published in
Appetite, October 2013
DOI 10.1016/j.appet.2013.09.022
Pubmed ID
Authors

Aoife De Brún, Mary McCarthy, Kenneth McKenzie, Aileen McGloin

Abstract

This study sampled 2872 obesity-relevant comments from three years of interest from a multi-topic online message board. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted and three themes were evident: reactions and responses to obesity and obese bodies, diminished status of overweight/obese persons, and narrative resistance to an overweight/obese identity. Obesity stigma was pervasive and the discussion of the issue revealed it to be highly acceptable. Consistent with previous research, dominant representations of obese persons as lazy and unintelligent with poor self-control were evident. The analysis provided valuable insight into experiences of explicit stigma, the social and psychological repercussions of overt stigma and norms regarding the perception of obese bodies. There was a prevailing notion that the opinions and insights of overweight and obese persons on the issue of weight were not credible and were perceived as biased. Furthermore, individuals sought to distance themselves from the undesirable labels of 'overweight' and 'obese' by enacting narrative resistance to negotiate the social meaning of excess weight and endeavouring to place themselves on the 'safe' side of this boundary. These results highlight the pervasive nature of weight stigma and the social acceptability of such attitudes and beliefs. Furthermore, it highlights the richness of data that may be obtained by examining social media interactions as a window into the naturally-occurring discourse on obesity and stigma.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 5 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 207 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 3 1%
United Kingdom 1 <1%
Canada 1 <1%
Unknown 202 98%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 38 18%
Student > Ph. D. Student 28 14%
Student > Bachelor 25 12%
Student > Doctoral Student 21 10%
Researcher 12 6%
Other 38 18%
Unknown 45 22%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Psychology 53 26%
Social Sciences 36 17%
Nursing and Health Professions 16 8%
Medicine and Dentistry 16 8%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 8 4%
Other 29 14%
Unknown 49 24%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 5. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 07 January 2014.
All research outputs
#6,875,368
of 25,373,627 outputs
Outputs from Appetite
#2,339
of 4,785 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#58,232
of 220,026 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Appetite
#27
of 44 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,373,627 research outputs across all sources so far. This one has received more attention than most of these and is in the 72nd percentile.
So far Altmetric has tracked 4,785 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 24.0. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 50% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 220,026 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 73% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 44 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 38th percentile – i.e., 38% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.