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OP82 Newspaper coverage of calorie menu labelling in England, 2017 – 2022: A framing analysis
  1. Nancy Karreman,
  2. Michael Essman,
  3. Benjamin Hawkins,
  4. Jean Adams,
  5. Martin White
  1. MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Abstract

Background After it was initially dropped from the policy agenda in 2019 following strong opposition, mandatory calorie labelling in the out-of-home (OOH) sector gained traction in the UK in 2020. The policy was formally announced in the May 2021 Queen’s speech and took effect on 6 April 2022. Initial reactions to the policy have been mixed and accompanied by strong media coverage. Mass media has been variously conceptualised as a proxy for public opinion, an influencer of policymakers, and a mode of influence on the public. There are no existing analyses of newspaper coverage of calorie labelling proposals and policies in the UK. This analysis sought to understand how calorie labelling is portrayed; core themes and rhetorical devices employed; and in particular, how the public is characterised in this discussion.

Methods We searched the Factiva media database in May 2022 for articles from the top 12 national UK newspapers that referred to calorie menu labelling. After retrieval and de-duplication, we carried out screening and eligibility assessment relative to inclusion and exclusion criteria of 438 articles using Covidence software. All 179 subsequently included articles were then imported into NVivo 12 software for thematic analysis. Analysis followed six iterative and sometimes nonsequential phases: familiarisation; coding; generating initial themes; developing and reviewing themes; refining, defining, and naming themes; and writing up.

Results Articles and the speakers that they referenced generally fell into two polarised camps: those that supported the introduction of calorie menu labelling in England, and those that opposed it. Thought this division generally mapped onto public health researchers and advocates in one camp; and businesses, trade organisations, and libertarian think tanks in the other, this was not always the case. Our analysis highlighted competing discursive projects aligned with these two groups, as well as the common ground they shared. It also identified particular publics constructed through these discussions, including people living with eating disorders, parents and children, people living with overweight and obesity, and Britain the nation.

Conclusion Public discourse on calorie menu labelling in England was highly polarised during the repeated proposals of legislation to mandate its introduction in out-of-home settings in from 2017 to its enactment in April 2022. Our analysis sheds light on how journalists and policy actors framed the public, the problem of obesity, and the proposed policy differently to suit their particular interests and goals. It also explored the role of media in amplifying and disseminating these frames in ways that may have had consequences for the form of the calorie labelling policy ultimately enacted.

  • Framing analysis
  • media

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