JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

COVID-19 severity is amplified among individuals with obesity, which may have influenced mainstream media coverage of the disease. While this may have improved understanding of the condition, it also could increase weight-related stigma.

Objective:

To measure obesity-related conversations on Facebook and Instagram around key dates during the COVID-19 pandemic

Methods:

Public Facebook and Instagram posts were extracted for a 29-day window around January 28th (first US COVID-19 case), March 11th ( COVID-19 declared a global pandemic), May 19th (obesity and COVID-19 linked in mainstream media), and October 2nd (obesity mentioned most frequently in mainstream media when former-US President Trump contracted COVID-19). Trends in daily posts and corresponding interactions were evaluated using interrupted time series. The 10-most frequent obesity-related topics on each platform were also examined.

Results:

On Facebook, there was a temporary increase in obesity-related posts and interactions on May 19th (posts +405, 95% CI: 166, 645; interactions +294,930, 95% CI: 125,986; 463,874) and October 2nd (posts +639, 95% CI: 359, 883; interactions +182,814, 95% CI: 160,524; 205,105). On Instagram, there was a temporary increase only in interactions on May 19th (+226,017, 95% CI: 107,323; 344,708) and October 2nd (+156,974, 95% CI: 89,757; 224,192). Similar trends were not observed within controls. Five of the most frequent topics overlapped (COVID-19, bariatric surgery, weight loss stories, pediatric obesity, and sleep); additional topics specific to each platform included diet fads, food, and clickbait.

Conclusions:

Social media conversations surged in response to obesity-related public health news. Conversations contained both clinical and commercial content of possible dubious accuracy. Findings support that major public health announcements may be important dates to consider in the spread of health-related content (truthful or otherwise) on social media.