Web Search Analysis

I began my web search with Google. The initial result was a collection of “official looking” resources which each explained what obesity was, causes and what to do to solve the problem. My first thought was both how obvious the information seemed and thus maybe that is why the media does not truly cover the issue. Part of the news process is literally what is “new.” In this case, Americans have been socialized to how bad the problem is and thus there is little “new “ about the issue.

Out of curiosity, I then conducted a Google News search on obesity. Most of the news stories involved new pills or procedures to what it seemed would “solve” obesity. It was framed as a medical issue rather than an individual issue for a person to conquer. (Say, versus the message on weight-loss shows like the Biggest Loser.) I also learned that September is “National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month” which seems a rather silly as awareness of childhood obesity hardly seems to be the issue. (Like Women’s History Month and Black History Month, I am not a fan of issues that deserve year-round attention getting only get 28 or 30 days of attention.) Overall, it was not surprising, but still sad, that the “solution” to the issue is a medical-based procedure rather than an analysis of what children eat and how they exercise. There was a great editorial in the New York Times on September 5: “Time to Revive Home Ec.” It makes an argument I have made before about the value of home economics: the ability to cook, understand nutrition, etc. I believe California was recently looking at adding the class back as a requirement.

I then did a search of the “Biggest Loser” under Google News which came up with 1,600 pages. When I added obesity to the search, the results dropped to 43! The top article was a profile about a contestant from Season 11. This was the lead: “During the past two decades, there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in America, and rates continue to increase.” Unlike most coverage, obesity was the basis of the coverage. The New York Times article we read for class, I was struck by the concept that according to the producer this is an “extreme” show yet it not marketed that way both in the advertisements and in the media coverage of the program.