Social Media Response to the Introduction of the Swallowable Gastric Balloon Treatment for Severe Obesity in the NHS: A Snapshot of Public Opinion.
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Authors
Cromwell, Paul
Gopalan, Vignesh
Hall, Zoe
Lock, Kirsty
Welbourn, Richard
Issue Date
2024-10-15
Type
Journal Article
Language
en
Keywords
Gastric balloon , Obesity , Obesity stigma
Alternative Title
Abstract
Background
Swallowable gastric balloons are available in the UK to treat severe obesity. Our hospital introduced this treatment in 2023, the first to do so in the National Health Service (NHS). The event was featured by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on regional television, in multiple radio interviews, and online by numerous news outlets in February 2024. Obesity and the treatment of obesity are often subject to stigma, prejudice and bias. The event gave an opportunity to observe public opinion in response to a new publicly available obesity treatment.
Methods
Qualitative review of public comments in articles responding to the BBC story about the introduction of swallowable gastric balloon therapy in the NHS. Comments were categorized as positive, neutral, or negative.
Results
Out of 2364 comments reviewed from all sources, 16.6% were positive, 48.9% were neutral and 34.8% were negative. Obesity stigma was highly prevalent in the responses and included many derogatory and abusive comments, including towards the patients featured in the BBC articles.
Conclusions
Obesity stigma is highly prevalent in those responding by social media and on news websites to a new treatment within the NHS. Negative stereotypes may be a barrier to obesity treatment within the NHS and need to be addressed.
Description
Citation
Cromwell, P.; Gopalan, V.; Hall, Z. et al. (2024) 'Social media response to the introduction of the swallowable gastric balloon treatment for severe obesity in the NHS: a snapshot of public opinion', Obesity Surgery. 34 pp. 4228-4231. Available At: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11695-024-07533-6
Publisher
Springer Nature
License
© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Journal
Obesity surgery
Volume
34
Issue
11
PubMed ID
ISSN
1708-0428