Weight Management and the Internet
In recent decades the development of obesity has encapsulated the attention of a multitude of interdisciplinary concerns. Currently few social and medical epidemics exist which entail the level of examination that should be afforded to weight management. In an effort to adequately examine the interplay of genetic, environmental, and psycho-social variables which contribute to health related concerns, the relationships between weight management and mediating factors should be comprehensively deduced.
Currently few health related concerns are increasing at the rate of obesity. Moreover, the development of obesity is associated with a myriad of psycho-social and medical consequences such as health related concerns, stigmatization, body dissatisfaction, interpersonal dissatisfaction in romantic relationships, victimization, and bullying (Puhl and Latner, 2007). The development of obesity and subsequent attitudes of weight management is a complex arena that draws heavily on information from a variety of medical and psychological perspectives. At times, these perspectives can be quite contentious, dichotomous, and analyze the social phenomena of body weight according to a plethora of paradigms. With the substantive nature of obesity, weight management, and health in mind, our examination intends to illuminate the relationship between the aforementioned categories alongside the explosion of internet technologies and the subsequent impact on the obesogenic environment. In short, the obesogenic environment is defined as an environment in which the structures that develop contribute to as opposed to limit obesity (Powell et al., 2010). Although myriad factors contribute to weight related concerns, the widespread functionality of the internet appears to serve a notable role as both a contributing and mediating factor.
Within this site, readers will find information on a variety of sub-topics related to obesity and how it relates to the WWW and internet usage. The material available includes information on the Psycho-social role and impact of the internet on obesity, and how the web is used for intervention and behavior modification. You will learn about the Fat Acceptance movement, and by what means the web is being used as a response to fat stigmatization. In addition to these more broad topics, this site also includes information about eating disorders (both the use on online programs as part of an intervention plan, as well as the prevalence of pro-eating disorder sites) and online dieting, as well as the emergence of online dating and how this is utilized by obese individuals to find accepting partners. Although research in this area is somewhat limited, the exploration of correlative factors between the internet and obesity is a fertile area which has tremendous cultural implications. Recognizing the role of the internet in health related phenomena such as obesity may be integral to the understanding of obesity related concerns within the psycho-social development of society. Our goal is not to align ourselves with either side of obesity related activism but rather to explore the impact of the internet on several areas related to obesity with a lens of neutrality.
Site created by Shannon Davis and Matt Pollard; Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania , 2013
Currently few health related concerns are increasing at the rate of obesity. Moreover, the development of obesity is associated with a myriad of psycho-social and medical consequences such as health related concerns, stigmatization, body dissatisfaction, interpersonal dissatisfaction in romantic relationships, victimization, and bullying (Puhl and Latner, 2007). The development of obesity and subsequent attitudes of weight management is a complex arena that draws heavily on information from a variety of medical and psychological perspectives. At times, these perspectives can be quite contentious, dichotomous, and analyze the social phenomena of body weight according to a plethora of paradigms. With the substantive nature of obesity, weight management, and health in mind, our examination intends to illuminate the relationship between the aforementioned categories alongside the explosion of internet technologies and the subsequent impact on the obesogenic environment. In short, the obesogenic environment is defined as an environment in which the structures that develop contribute to as opposed to limit obesity (Powell et al., 2010). Although myriad factors contribute to weight related concerns, the widespread functionality of the internet appears to serve a notable role as both a contributing and mediating factor.
Within this site, readers will find information on a variety of sub-topics related to obesity and how it relates to the WWW and internet usage. The material available includes information on the Psycho-social role and impact of the internet on obesity, and how the web is used for intervention and behavior modification. You will learn about the Fat Acceptance movement, and by what means the web is being used as a response to fat stigmatization. In addition to these more broad topics, this site also includes information about eating disorders (both the use on online programs as part of an intervention plan, as well as the prevalence of pro-eating disorder sites) and online dieting, as well as the emergence of online dating and how this is utilized by obese individuals to find accepting partners. Although research in this area is somewhat limited, the exploration of correlative factors between the internet and obesity is a fertile area which has tremendous cultural implications. Recognizing the role of the internet in health related phenomena such as obesity may be integral to the understanding of obesity related concerns within the psycho-social development of society. Our goal is not to align ourselves with either side of obesity related activism but rather to explore the impact of the internet on several areas related to obesity with a lens of neutrality.
Site created by Shannon Davis and Matt Pollard; Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania , 2013