Twitter is the social network where conversations about overweight and obesity are the most negative.
- In 2020, nearly one in two French people (47.3%) was overweight and/or obese.
- Massive obesity has practically doubled in a decade, going from 1.1% in 2009 to 2% in 2020, and now concerns more than one million French people.
Novo Nordisk France entrusted Linkfkuence with carrying out a new study aimed at understanding how excess weight and obesity are addressed online. To achieve their goal, the researchers collected Twitter, Facebook and Instagram posts from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021, with a French geolocation filter.
Covid-19, diet, obesity surgery
On social networks over the past year, the main topics of French conversation related to overweight and obesity have been the risks faced by those affected with Covid-19, diets, obesity surgery (sleeve , gastric rings and gastric bypass), type 2 diabetes, occasional controversies (with the hashtags #plusde100kilosetsereine, #pasmarenaissance or #balancetongrossophobe) and finally anti-obesity drugs.
Moreover, the most mentioned solutions in terms of weight management are physical activity (27%), diets (21%), obesity surgery (17%) and medication or food supplements.
Over one year, the tone of conversations about obesity was 26% negative, 63% neutral and 11% positive. Twitter is the most used platform to discuss the topic and hosts the most negative conversations, “sign of a latent grossophobia”, say the researchers. Instagram and Facebook convey more positivity, thanks to more engaging content on body positivism, the fight against fatphobia and even coaching. “Note that these are the most effective platforms for reaching more Internet users (better reach/post compared to Twitter), even if their impact in absolute terms remains secondary (in terms of volume of posts)”, analyze the authors of the study.
A subject that reaches few Internet users
“Obesity is a conversational subject (187,000 publications) but which reaches few Internet users (reach/post of 238, the lowest compared to other pathologies). It therefore deserves more media coverage, as c is the case for breast cancer, for example”, they conclude.
17% of French people are now in a situation of obesity, and many suffer from multiple associated pathologies.
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