Letter to the National Union of Journalists

On 6th April 2018, an open letter was sent to the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in an attempt to work collaboratively on improving the current media portrayal of obesity. This letter was supported by a range of health organisations and professional bodies, as well as UK university departments and research groups.

Weight stigma and discrimination has been highlighted in UK media on several occasions, and there are calls for media portrayal to be improved. In May 2018, the APPG on Obesity launched its inquiry findings from ‘The current landscape of obesity services’ which highlighted the commonality of weight stigma and discrimination experiences. With research evidence highlighting the associated health decrements of these experiences, reducing weight stigma and discrimination and improving the portrayal of people with overweight and obesity is a priority for many healthcare practitioners and academics.

Despite contacting the National Union of Journalists on three separate occasions, a response has not been received. Dr Stuart W. Flint, Senior Research Fellow at Leeds Beckett University, will be making continued attempts to contact the National Union of Journalists, with the intention of working together with the NUJ to improve the portrayal of overweight and obesity in the media. This letter is shared here for information.

You can find a copy of the letter here.