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Pass the popcorn: "obesogenic" behaviors and stigma in children's movies.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Throop, EM; Skinner, AC; Perrin, AJ; Steiner, MJ; Odulana, A; Perrin, EM
Published in: Obesity (Silver Spring)
July 2014

OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of obesity-related behaviors and attitudes in children's movies. METHODS: A mixed-methods study of the top-grossing G- and PG-rated movies, 2006-2010 (4 per year) was performed. For each 10-min movie segment, the following were assessed: 1) prevalence of key nutrition and physical activity behaviors corresponding to the American Academy of Pediatrics obesity prevention recommendations for families; 2) prevalence of weight stigma; 3) assessment as healthy, unhealthy, or neutral; 3) free-text interpretations of stigma. RESULTS: Agreement between coders was >85% (Cohen's kappa = 0.7), good for binary responses. Segments with food depicted: exaggerated portion size (26%); unhealthy snacks (51%); sugar-sweetened beverages (19%). Screen time was also prevalent (40% of movies showed television; 35% computer; 20% video games). Unhealthy segments outnumbered healthy segments 2:1. Most (70%) of the movies included weight-related stigmatizing content (e.g., "That fat butt! Flabby arms! And this ridiculous belly!"). CONCLUSIONS: These popular children's movies had significant "obesogenic" content, and most contained weight-based stigma. They present a mixed message to children, promoting unhealthy behaviors while stigmatizing the behaviors' possible effects. Further research is needed to determine the effects of such messages on children.

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Published In

Obesity (Silver Spring)

DOI

EISSN

1930-739X

Publication Date

July 2014

Volume

22

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1694 / 1700

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Stigma
  • Social Facilitation
  • Sedentary Behavior
  • Risk Factors
  • Pediatric Obesity
  • Motor Activity
  • Motion Pictures
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Behavior
 

Citation

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Throop, E. M., Skinner, A. C., Perrin, A. J., Steiner, M. J., Odulana, A., & Perrin, E. M. (2014). Pass the popcorn: "obesogenic" behaviors and stigma in children's movies. Obesity (Silver Spring), 22(7), 1694–1700. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20652
Throop, Elizabeth M., Asheley Cockrell Skinner, Andrew J. Perrin, Michael J. Steiner, Adebowale Odulana, and Eliana M. Perrin. “Pass the popcorn: "obesogenic" behaviors and stigma in children's movies.Obesity (Silver Spring) 22, no. 7 (July 2014): 1694–1700. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.20652.
Throop EM, Skinner AC, Perrin AJ, Steiner MJ, Odulana A, Perrin EM. Pass the popcorn: "obesogenic" behaviors and stigma in children's movies. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2014 Jul;22(7):1694–700.
Throop, Elizabeth M., et al. “Pass the popcorn: "obesogenic" behaviors and stigma in children's movies.Obesity (Silver Spring), vol. 22, no. 7, July 2014, pp. 1694–700. Pubmed, doi:10.1002/oby.20652.
Throop EM, Skinner AC, Perrin AJ, Steiner MJ, Odulana A, Perrin EM. Pass the popcorn: "obesogenic" behaviors and stigma in children's movies. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2014 Jul;22(7):1694–1700.
Journal cover image

Published In

Obesity (Silver Spring)

DOI

EISSN

1930-739X

Publication Date

July 2014

Volume

22

Issue

7

Start / End Page

1694 / 1700

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Stigma
  • Social Facilitation
  • Sedentary Behavior
  • Risk Factors
  • Pediatric Obesity
  • Motor Activity
  • Motion Pictures
  • Male
  • Humans
  • Health Behavior