METAPHORICAL FRAMING OF OBESITY IN ONLINE NEWS DISCOURSE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2025.4.14Keywords:
obesity, metaphorical framing, linguistics, online news discourse, image anchoring, stigmatisationAbstract
Metaphorical Framing of Obesity in Online News Discourse. For people living with obesity, public discourse is replete with messages concerning the risks and warnings that their overweight and size pose to society and themselves. Moreover, bias and stigma are frequently associated with obesity, people suffering from it being perceived as unattractive, repulsive, and even responsible for their condition.
This paper is based on a content analysis of obesity discourse in Digi24 news published online between 2017 and 2022. It aims to find out how obesity is framed through metaphors and what its subsequent conceptualisations and evaluations are at the linguistic level (individual versus collective responsibility, positive versus negative evaluation), as well as at the level of associated imagery. Results demonstrate that Romanian online news metaphorically frames obesity in ways that both inform and reinforce stigma toward the persons living with it. Overcoming the limited understanding, stereotypes, and stigma surrounding obesity is a slow but essential process, to which online news can contribute by indirectly shaping public perceptions and societal attitudes towards obesity.
REZUMAT. Reprezentări metaforice ale obezității în discursul știrilor online. Pentru persoanele care suferă de obezitate, discursul public este invadat de avertismente ce accentuează riscurile pe care obezitatea și dimensiunea corporală le reprezintă pentru sine și pentru societate. De asemenea, prejudecățile și stigmatizarea sunt frecvent asociate cu obezitatea, persoanele cu obezitate putând fi percepute ca neatrăgătoare, respingătoare chiar și responsabile pentru afecțiunea de care suferă.
Lucrarea de față este o analiză de conținut a discursului despre obezitate pe un eșantion de știri Digi24 publicate online între anii 2017 - 2022. Ea pune în lumină modul în care obezitatea este încadrată metaforic la nivel lingvistic și al imaginilor care ancorează discursul obezității dar și conceptualizările și evaluările acesteia pozitive sau negative: obezitatea ca responsabilitate individuală versus colectivă. Renunțarea la percepțiile limitate legate de obezitate este un proces lent dar esențial la care discursul știrilor online poate contribui prin modelarea acestora.
Cuvinte-cheie: obezitate, cadre metaforice, lingvistică, discursul știrilor online, ancorare prin imagini, stigmatizare
Article history: Received 21 July 2025; Revised 26 September 2025; Accepted 10 October 2025;
Available online 12 December 2025; Available print 30 December 2025
References
Primary resources – Online news case studies
[20] https://www.digi24.ro/magazin/stil-de-viata/viata-sanatoasa/poti-fi-gras-si-sanatos-817283.
[24] https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/actualitate/sanatate/romania-si-ue-topul-obezitatii-767411.
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