Behind the Headlines

Are TV cookery shows making us fat?

Wednesday Nov 14 2012

"Is Nigella making you fat?" asks the Daily Mail, telling readers that, "TV cookery shows make us tuck into unhealthy snacks". The headline comes from a small study that found young adults who watched a 10-minute clip of a cookery...

Is your doctor fattist?

Thursday Nov 8 2012

'Doctors are 'prejudiced' against overweight patients' the Daily Mail claims after the publication of a study aiming to assess doctors’ attitudes towards overweight and obese people…

Huge rise in gout cases

Monday Oct 1 2012

'Disease of kings' is on the rise as more people get gout because of rising rates of obesity, according to the Daily Mail. Gout is a condition that causes pain and swelling in the joints. It often affects the big toe but can affect larger joints...

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Can you really be both 'fat and fit?'

Wednesday Sep 5 2012

People "can be obese yet physically healthy and fit and at no greater risk of heart disease or cancer", according to BBC News. This counterintuitive headline stems from a study that was...

Obesity surgery 'rockets'

Friday Aug 24 2012

‘Fat Britain’, says the Daily Mail, in a report on the growing number of gastric bypass operations reportedly costing the NHS £85million a year. The media has reported extensively on weight-loss surgery for obesity today, with...

Avoid obesity to stave off mental decline

Tuesday Aug 21 2012

“Obesity ‘bad for brain’ by hastening cognitive decline”, reports the BBC, with most of the mainstream national media covering the same story. The news is based on the results of a...

TV watching tots turning into 'telly tubbies'

Monday Jul 16 2012

“TV habits 'can predict kids' waist size and fitness,'” reported BBC News, while the Metro carried the balder headline “Two-year-olds who watch too much television ‘will get fat’.” So does the amount of time...

Ex-smokers pile on the pounds

Wednesday Jul 11 2012

“The average weight gain associated with giving up smoking is much higher than previously thought,” BBC News has reported. The story comes from a study looking at weight change in smokers who...

'Flab jab' hopes are premature

Monday Jul 9 2012

A “flab jab” that gets our immune systems to fight weight gain could let us “stay slim on a junk food diet”, the Daily Mail has reported, along with much of the rest of the national press. The Mail added that "mice...

BMI 'may not reflect child obesity'

Friday Jun 15 2012

Assessing children’s weight using body mass index may mean that the obesity epidemic is being underestimated, said The Daily Telegraph. Body mass index, or BMI, looks at how appropriate a person’s weight is...

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