Newspaper reporting on legislative and policy interventions to address obesity: United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom

Nola M Ries, Christen Rachul, Timothy Caulfield

This article analyzes the content of articles in major newspapers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom that discuss legislative and policy measures to control obesity. The aim was to identify and compare measures that attract media attention in the three jurisdictions: the tone of print media coverage, the characterization of obesity, and attitudes toward government interventions to address obesity. We collected 360 articles published between January 1989 and April 2009 in 12 major newspapers: 83 were published in the United States, 85 in Canada, and 192 in the United Kingdom. Articles in the three jurisdictions discussed the nature and causes of obesity in similar terms, but revealed differences in attitudes toward obesity and toward legal and policy interventions to control rising obesity rates. Obesity is reported principally as a lifestyle problem, but articles state (in varying proportions) that individuals, governments, and industry all share a role in addressing modern environments to promote healthier choices.