142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Measuring effects of information in media on antecedents of African American youth weight control: A case study of magazine content

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Chelsea Reynolds, M.A. , School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Marco Yzer, Ph.D. , School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Carolyn Ievers-Landis, Ph.D. , University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH
  
Obesity is a serious health issue for American youth – especially youth from ethnic and racial minorities. Scholars have suggested media might put youth at risk for obesity-related issues. Research about media influence on health outcomes has relied on self-reporting of both media use and health behaviors. However, self-reports have limited validity.

Youth learn about health through many media, but they might not be able to name health information sources. Studies show teens learn sexual health behaviors from magazines, TV, and music more than from parents or school and they learn smoking behaviors from commercial films. However, no research to date has examined weight-related content in entertainment media used by ethnic and racial minorities. It is the focus of our study.

We present a content analysis of weight-related messages in magazines read by African American youth. We assess all information related to eating and physical activity in October 2008 and May 2009 issues of 12 popular titles. Sixteen coders rated more than 32,000 analysis units on more than 2,500 pages. They coded weight-related visual and textual information in editorial and ad content.

Roughly 7% of magazine content includes weight-related messages. Healthy weight-related content is more prominent in sports magazines than other genres, and weight-related content is more prominent in October issues. We compare 200 African American youths’ ages, genders, and BMIs with magazine content they read.

We underscore the availability of health content in entertainment media, further suggesting self-reporting may not provide a clear picture of youths’ actual media diets.

Learning Areas:

Communication and informatics
Diversity and culture
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Assess weight-related messages presented in popular magazines read by African American youth. Compare weight-related messages in sports magazines with weight-related messages in music, women's, children's, and gossip magazines. Describe problems with self-reporting media use and access to weight-related content.

Keyword(s): Minority Health, Media

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am a doctoral student in the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication. My research focuses on the intersections between mass media -- specifically magazines -- and human health. I formerly worked as a writer and editor for national health magazines and health journalism nonprofits.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4395.0: Promoting Healthy Eating and Healthy Lifestyles (organized by HCWG)