ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2020
General Public's Information-Seeking Patterns of Topics Related to Obesity: Google Trends Analysis.
Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- New Year's Resolution or Spring Feelings? Effect of Month and Season on First Presentation and Short-Term Outcome in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.Obesity surgery · 2026Article
- Uncovering the Top Nonadvertising Weight Loss Websites on Google: A Data-Mining Approach.JMIR infodemiology · 2024Article
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- Social Media as a Research Tool (SMaaRT) for Risky Behavior Analytics: Methodological Review.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2020Review
- Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundObesity is a major public health challenge, and recent literature sheds light on the concept of "normalization" of obesity.
objectiveWe aimed to study the worldwide pattern of web-based information seeking by public on obesity and on its related terms and topics using Google Trends.
methodsWe compared the relative frequency of obesity-related search terms and topics between 2004 and 2019 on Google Trends. The mean relative interest scores for these terms over the 4-year quartiles were compared.
resultsThe mean relative interest score of the search term "obesity" consistently decreased with time in all four quartiles (2004-2019), whereas the relative interest scores of the search topics "weight loss" and "abdominal obesity" increased. The topic "weight loss" was popular during the month of January, and its median relative interest score for January was higher than that for other months for the entire study period (P<.001). The relative interest score for the search term "obese" decreased over time, whereas those scores for the terms "body positivity" and "self-love" increased after 2013.
conclusionsDespite a worldwide increase in the prevalence of obesity, its popularity as an internet search term diminished over time. The reason for peaks in months should be explored and applied to the awareness campaigns for better effectiveness. These patterns suggest normalization of obesity in society and a rise of public curiosity about image-related obesity rather than its medical implications and harm.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.