Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Jun 1, 2020
Date Accepted: Jul 7, 2020
Date Submitted to PubMed: Jul 7, 2020
Information Seeking Pattern of Public on Topics Related to Obesity: Google Trends Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Obesity is a major public health challenge and recent literature sheds light on the concept of “normalization” of obesity.
Objective:
We aimed to study the worldwide pattern of web based information seeking by public on obesity and related topics using Google Trends.
Methods:
We compared the relative frequency of search topics and terms related to Obesity between 2004 and 2019 on Google Trends. The mean relative interest score (RIS) was compared between a 4-year period quartiles.
Results:
The mean RIS of Obesity consistently decreased with time in all four quartiles (2004-2019), whereas the RIS of the search topics “Weight loss” and “Abdominal Obesity” increased. The term “Weight loss” was popular during the month of January and its median RIS for January as compared to other months was higher for the entire study period (p<0.001). The RIS for term “Obese” decreased over time, whereas “Body positivity” and “Self-Love” increased after 2013.
Conclusions:
Despite increase in prevalence of obesity worldwide, its popularity on internet diminishes. The reason for peaks in months should be explored and may be applied to awareness campaigns for better effectiveness. These patterns suggest normalization of obesity in the society with rise of public curiosity towards image-related obesity rather than its medical implications and harm.
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