Picturing obesity: Analyzing the social epidemiology of obesity conveyed through US news media images

► Pictures in the news media can convey information about groups affected by obesity that text cannot. ► From 1984 to 2009, U.S. news magazines increasingly depicted non-whites in pictures about obesity. ► Compared to the true epidemiology of obesity, magazines underrepresented African Americans, Latinos, and the elderly. ► Images have the potential to shape the way people think about obesity and their support for obesity prevention policy.