title: Does this Tweet make me look fat? A content analysis of weight stigma on Twitter.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Weight stigma involves stereotyping individuals based on body size. Individuals with obesity face weight stigma in many areas of their lives, and consequences can include impairment of mental and physical health, relationships, and academic performance. Weight-stigmatizing messages are pervasive in mass media, but the degree and characteristics of its presence within new-media social environments remain comparatively unknown.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study examined weight stigma on Twitter by coding Tweet content that included the word "fat" within a 4-h timeframe (N = 4596). Coding marked demographic characteristics represented in content, messages about weight, and perceived intent of the message.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of all messages, 56.57 % were negative and 32.09 % were neutral. Of those containing weight-stigmatizing messages (n = 529), themes relating to fatness included: gluttonous (48.58 %), unattractive (25.14 %), not sexually desirable (2.65 %), sedentary (13.80 %), lazy (5.86 %), and stupid (4.16 %).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Weight-stigmatizing messages are evident in the increasingly important arena of social media, and themes appear similar to those that emerge in other forms of media. Prevention and intervention body image programs should consider targeting social networks to help individuals manage societal messages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, 301 Cedar Street, New Haven, CT, 06519, USA. janet.lydecker@yale.edu.|Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA. janet.lydecker@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Janet A
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6425-514X
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lydecker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.|School of Education, Teaching, and Health, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC, 20006, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Cotter
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
authors.forename: Allison A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Palmberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kwitowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 806 West Franklin Street, PO Box 842018, Richmond, VA, 23284, USA.
authors.forename: Suzanne E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Mazzeo
mesh_terms: D001828:Body Image / Q000523:psychology*; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D061108:Social Media; D057545:Social Stigma; D013240:Stereotyping
keywords: Content analysis; Prevention; Social media; Twitter; Weight stigma