MEANINGS ASSIGNED TO OBESITY. CONTENT ANALYSIS OF “SUPER LINIA” MAGAZINE, ADDRESSED TO READERS INTERESTED IN REDUCTION OF BODY WEIGHT

Abstract

The article presents the results of the contents analysis of a magazine addressed to people potentially interested in reduction of their body weight. The subject of the analysis were two annual editions of “Super Linia” magazine, issued in 1995 and 2015. The methods of quantitative and qualitative content analyses were used. The main focus of the analyses were the kinds of issues raised in the two chosen annual editions as well as the meanings assigned to obesity in three chosen contexts: social, aesthetic and medical. The comparison of the two annual editions has shown, that the range of issues raised in the magazine has not changed significantly in 2015 in comparison to 1995. The meanings assigned to obesity have changed to the greatest extent when presenting obesity in the social context.