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Memes may Contribute to Teenage Obesity, Lawmakers Told

posted by martyb on Saturday October 20 2018, @08:50PM   Printer-friendly
from the GIGO dept.

An Anonymous Coward writes:

Memes carry dangerous health-related messages and make light of unhealthy eating habits, researchers from Loughborough University wrote in a letter sent to a British parliamentary committee.

"A substantial number of individuals on Twitter share health-related Internet memes, with both positive and negative messages," they wrote, noting that many "contain inappropriate material."

A picture of an overweight child with the caption "Free food? Count me in!" was sent along with the letter as an example of a meme the researchers found dangerous.

The academics were also concerned by a meme that created a human-like body from pictures of pizzas and hamburgers, with frankfurters used for limbs and a smiley-faced potato for a face.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/18/health/internet-memes-obesity-intl/index.html

Monkey see, monkey... eat?

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:07PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:07PM (#751474)

    So the meme "our Kingdom killed and dismembered a journalist" may cause some Saudi teens to put on weight?

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  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:11PM (2 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:11PM (#751476) Journal

    At the same time, meme creation can lead to very rapid weight loss.

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

    • (Score: 2) by choose another one on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:31PM (1 child)

      by choose another one (515) Subscriber Badge on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:31PM (#751480)

      Not really, if they scrape all the bits of you together they should weigh the same in total as you did before (modulo a bit of blood). Just not all connected anymore...

      • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:45PM

        by MostCynical (2589) on Saturday October 20 2018, @09:45PM (#751486) Journal

        If they'd stopped after the first few fingers..

        --
        "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex