ArticlePloS one2020
Monitoring the 'diabetes epidemic': A framing analysis of United Kingdom print news 1993-2013.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Perception of inherited risk in type 2 diabetes: a systematic review.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- Evaluating Glycemic Control During Basalin or Lantus Administration in Adults With Controlled Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Using Continuous Glucose Monitoring.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Trial
- From language matters to stigma-free communication in diabetes: Evolution, challenges, and next steps.Diabetic medicine : a journal of the British Diabetic Association · 2026Review
- Framing analysis as a pedagogical tool for broadening medical students' understanding of cancer: a course evaluation.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- The Role of Digital Media in Chronic Disease Self-Management: Protocol for a Multimethod Study of the DISELMA Research Consortium.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Article
- Relationship Between BMI and Prediabetes in Chinese Adults: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study.International journal of endocrinology · 2025Article
- 'A radical operation' - a thematic analysis of newspaper framing of bariatric surgery in adolescents.BMC public health · 2023Article
- How Are the Links between Alcohol Consumption and Breast Cancer Portrayed in Australian Newspapers?: A Paired Thematic and Framing Media Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- How the Media Places Responsibility for the COVID-19 Pandemic-An Australian Media Analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2020Article
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3 authors.
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Abstract
introductionThe view that we are in the midst of a global diabetes epidemic has gained considerable ground in recent years and is often linked to the prior 'obesity epidemic'. This research explored how the diabetes epidemic was represented in United Kingdom (UK) news over the same time period that the obesity epidemic was widely reported. The research was motivated by a sociological interest in how postmodern 'epidemics' synergise with each other amidst broader political, economic, moral and sociocultural discourses.
methodWe analysed three time-bound samples of UK news articles about diabetes: 1993 (n = 19), 2001 (n = 119) and 2013 (n = 324). Until now, UK media has had the least attention regarding portrayal of diabetes. We adopted an empathically neutral approach and used a dual method approach of inductive thematic analysis and deductive framing analysis. The two methods were triangulated to produce the findings.
resultsFraming of diabetes moved from medical in 1993 to behavioural in 2001, then societal in 2013. By 2001 obesity was conceptualised as causal to diabetes, rather than a risk factor. Between 2001 and 2013 portrayals of the modifiable risk factors for diabetes (i.e. diet, exercise and weight) became increasingly technical. Other risk factors like age, family history and genetics faded during 2001 and 2013, while race, ethnicity and culture were positioned as states of 'high risk' for diabetes. The notion of an 'epidemic' of diabetes 'powered up' these concerns from an individual problem to a societal threat in the context of obesity as a well-known health risk. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionPortraying diabetes and the diabetes epidemic as anticipated consequences of obesity enlivens the heightened awareness to future risks in everyday life brought about during the obesity epidemic. The freeform adoption of the 'epidemic' term in contemporary health discourse appears to foster individual and societal dependence on biomedicine, giving it political, economic and divisive utility.
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