Framing the consequences of childhood obesity to increase public support for obesity prevention policy

We examined the effects of messages describing consequences of childhood obesity on public attitudes about obesity prevention policy.

We collected data from 2 nationally representative Internet-based surveys. First, respondents (n = 444) evaluated the strength of 11 messages about obesity's consequences as reasons for government action. Second, we randomly assigned respondents (n = 2494) to a control group or to treatment groups shown messages about obesity consequences. We compared groups' attitudes toward obesity prevention, stratified by political ideology.

Respondents perceived a message about the health consequences of childhood obesity as the strongest rationale for government action; messages about military readiness, bullying, and health care costs were rated particularly strong by conservatives, moderates, and liberals, respectively. A message identifying the consequences of obesity on military readiness increased conservatives' perceptions of seriousness, endorsement of responsibility beyond the individual, and policy support, compared with a control condition.

The public considers several consequences of childhood obesity as strong justification for obesity prevention policy. Activating new or unexpected values in framing a health message could raise the health issue's salience for particular subgroups of the public.