Tackling Obesity: Top 100 Influencers and Brands

Obesity worldwide has more than doubled since 1980. The fundamental cause of obesity is an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. Globally, there has been an increased intake of energy-dense foods that are high in fat, coupled with an decrease in physical activity due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, changing modes of transportation, and increasing urbanization.

Taking steps to tackle obesity is important because it can lead to a number of serious and potentially life-threatening conditions including diabetes, coronary heart disease and cancer. Obesity can also affect your quality of life and lead to psychological problems, such as low self-esteem or depression.

Campaigners are calling for tighter regulations around the marketing of food and drinks to reduce the exposure of children and adolescents to unhealthy foods. Ideas currently being floated include a 9pm watershed on TV adverts for junk food, and a tax on sugary drinks. A sugar tax was introduced in Mexico and has already reduced sales of sugary drinks by 6% in its first year. On a corporate level, supermarkets are being pressurized to remove food with high sugar content from checkouts to reduce children’s exposure to sugary snacks.

As well as encouraging people to eat less sugar, it is also important for governments to promote an increased consumption of fruit and vegetables, as well as legumes, whole grains and nuts. Engaging in regular physical activity (60 minutes a day for children and 150 minutes per week for adults) is another key message that needs to be promoted.

There is still much to be done to tackle obesity, with health services around the world struggling to cope with the increase in weight related diseases such as diabetes, action must be taken to prevent this epidemic becoming unsustainable.

WHAT ARE THE EXPERTS SAYING?

We reached out to some of the top 20 influencers to ask them for their views on Obesity. We spoke to Neil Floch MD (#3). Dr Arya M. Sharma (#6), Dr Alessandro Demaio (#13), Ted Kyle (#18). Be sure to follow them to stay up to date on the best content and resources on Obesity!

Neil Floch MD – Director of Bariatric Surgery Norwalk Hospital

“The prevalence of obesity continues to rise as the leadership of nations neglect the multiple fundamental causes of this complex disease which has altered our hormonal, microbial, genetic, and epigenetic compositions. Until the blame of obesity is taken away from the patient and cast upon our social, political and economic systems we will continue to see an ominous trend. We need to reverse our perception of what is healthy food and reject that simply dieting and exercising will reverse what is now a global epidemic. Governments must support the production of wholesome, non-toxic,  healthy foods and penalize the production and consumption of food that results in illness and ultimately over stressed and costly health systems. The public should avoid sugar and simple carbohydrates while focusing on a diet rich in complex carbohydrates, protein, healthy fats as well as high fiber. Access to care in the form of insurance coverage for the treatment of those afflicted is mandatory.  It is the obligation of nations to address the health and welfare of those who already afflicted by obesity and the more than 70 other associated diseases by providing access to medical and surgical care.” 

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Dr Arya M. Sharma – Chair in Obesity Research and Management, University of Alberta

“Once established, obesity becomes a chronic, often lifelong disease – the only difference to other common chronic diseases, is that we are trailing way behind in finding effective treatments and are doing a miserable job of delivering the few treatments we do have, to the patients who need them the most.”

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Dr Alessandro Demaio – Medical Officer with the World Health Organization

“The public health community does not use the word “crisis” lightly. We are not in the business of grandiose statements. But when one in four Australian kids and two-thirds of Australian adults are overweight or obese, we do have a crisis. Obesity costs us $21 billion a year directly and $35 billion indirectly – a tab that all taxpayers must all pick up. In an age when we have less and less to spend on education, healthcare and public infrastructure, doesn’t it make good economic sense to support measures that plug this fiscal hole?”

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Ted Kyle – Principal and Founder of ConscienHealth

“Thirty years of simplistic thinking about obesity has made things worse, not better. Since 1980, it’s grown from affecting 15% to 38% of adults. Most people assume obesity simply results from bad personal choices about diet and exercise. But the truth is much more complex. Scientists, health professionals, and people living with obesity are slowly learning it is a chronic disease that results mostly from genetic susceptibility and community risk factors. Personal choices can make obesity worse or help to address it. But it takes a lot of work, a lot of help, and a little luck to overcome obesity.”

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MAPPING THE COMMUNITY

We were very interested in seeing which professionals and brands were leading the online discussion on obesity, so we analysed  717K+  tweets from October 13th, 2015 to January 10th, 2016 mentioning the keyword “Obesity”. We then identified the top 100 most influential brands and individuals leading the discussion on Twitter. What we discovered was a very engaged community, with much discussion between individuals and brands. Below you can see a network map of the online conversation created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM). Be sure to click on the map to enjoy the full size network diagram in greater detail.

If you are interested in learning more about our IRM software click here!

Below you can see another network map created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM) showing the #2 brand PHE Obesity at the centre, and the conversations to and from the different influencers in their field. If you are interested in learning more about identifying, managing and engaging with influencers click here to get in touch!

TOP 100 INDIVIDUALS

We looked at all the individuals engaging in discussion around obesity, including campaigners, academics, medical professionals and journalists to give you the top influencers on obesity. Be sure to hit the button below to get the full top 100 list!

Rank	Twitter Handle	Name	Company	Influencer Score
1	@jamieoliver	Jamie Oliver	Jamie Oliver	53.83
2	@DrAseemMalhotra	Dr Aseem Malhotra	NHS	32.88
3	@NeilFlochMD	Neil Floch MD	Fairfield County Bariatrics	22.3
4	@sarahwollaston	Sarah Wollaston MP	The Conservative Party	19.47
5	@YoniFreedhoff	Yoni Freedhoff, MD	Bariatric Medical Institute	16.49
6	@DrSharma	Dr Arya M. Sharma	Canadian Obesity Network	13.22
7	@EricTopol	Eric Topol	STSI	11.01
8	@whsource	Stephan Guyenet, PhD	Whole Health Source	10.52
9	@olgakhazan	Olga Khazan	Atlantic	9.76
10	@garyruskin	Gary Ruskin	Right to Know	8.52
11	@RobertLustigMD	Robert Lustig MD	IRN	8.4
12	@juliaoftoronto	Julia Belluz	Vox	7.99
13	@SandroDemaio	Dr Alessandro Demaio	WHO	7.97
14	@CaulfieldTim	Timothy Caulfield	University of Alberta	7.49
15	@picardonhealth	André Picard	The Globe and Mail	7.05
16	@Susankneely	Susan Neely	ameribev	6.89
17	@marionnestle	Marion Nestle	NYU	6.76
18	@ConscienHealth	Ted Kyle	ConscienHealth	6.29
19	@MichaelMossC	Michael Moss	NYT, WSJ	5.88
20	@clarercgp	Clare Gerada	NHS	5.3
21	@anahadoconnor	anahad oconnor	NYT	5.3
22	@TravisSaunders	TravisSaunders	UPEI	5.11
23	@erik_arnesen	Erik Arnesen	LHL	5.01
24	@AlexMunterCHEO	Alex Munter	CHEOhospital	4.92
25	@davidludwigmd	Dr. David Ludwig	Harvard	4.8
26	@RebeccaDRobbins	Rebecca Robbins	Stat News	4.61
27	@bigfatsurprise	Nina Teicholz	The Big Fat Surprise	4.36
28	@SimonCapewell99	Simon Capewell	thebigfatsurprise.com	4.33
29	@mwbloem	Martin Bloem	Johns Hopkins University	4.18
30	@ProfTimNoakes	Tim Noakes	The Noakes Foundation	4.15
31	@ProfKevinFenton	Kevin Fenton	Public health England	4.09
32	@BoydSwinburn	Boyd Swinburn	University of Auckland	3.98
33	@EustacedeSousa	Eustace de Sousa	Public Health England.	3.87
34	@hbottemiller	Helena B. Evich	Politico	3.81
35	@Eggface	Michelle Vicari	Independent Consultant	3.67
36	@DanTaber47	Dan Taber PhD	University of Texas	3.56
37	@DavidAKesslerMD	David A. Kessler MD	David Kessler	3.31
38	@mtmdphd	Mike Thompson, MDPhD	University of Wisconsin	3.27
39	@Vandanaluthra	Vandana Luthra	VLCC	3.1
40	@JDonzeBlack_Pew	Jessica Donze Black	The Pew Trusts	3.04
41	@nutrevolve	Kevin C. Klatt	nutrevolve	2.89
42	@NutritionNerd	Tanya Halliday, RD	Virginia Tech	2.87
43	@DrTomFarley	Dr. Tom Farley	The Public Good Projects.	2.86
44	@rtoomath	Dr Robyn Toomath	Fight the Obesity Epidemic	2.77
45	@gbentley1	Guy Bentley	Daily Caller	2.65
46	@chrissjarratt	Chris Jarratt	Bariquins	2.61
47	@CorinnaHawkes	Corinna Hawkes	Food Policy City	2.6
48	@Dmozaffarian	Dariush Mozaffarian	Tufts University	2.58
49	@profpaulgately	Prof Paul Gately	More Life	2.39
50	@jcolemanmp	Jonathan Coleman	New Zealand National Party	2.35

 

Top 100 Brands

In the top 100 brands we can find a great selection of medical institutions and organisations  as well as useful resources such as media publications and forums. Be sure to hit the button below to get all the insights!

Rank	Twitter Handle	Name	Influencer Score
1	@PHE_uk	PublicHealthEngland	53.08
2	@PHE_obesity	PHE Obesity	38.24
3	@Harvard	Harvard University	33.93
4	@HarvardChanSPH	HarvardPublicHealth	27.48
5	@hscic	HSCIC	26.31
6	@ObesitySociety	The Obesity Society	17.92
7	@FoodRev	Food Revolution	15.97
8	@harvardmed	Harvard Med School	15.69
9	@Independent	The Independent	13.03
10	@EASOobesity	EASO	12.36
11	@npr	NPR News	11.69
12	@MailOnline	Daily Mail Online	10.64
13	@bmj_latest	The BMJ	9.42
14	@Prevent_Obesity	PreventObesityNet	8.89
15	@VictoriaLIVE	Victoria Derbyshire	8.87
16	@statnews	Stat	8.58
17	@CR_UK	Cancer Research UK	8.24
18	@Health_Affairs	Health Affairs	8.12
19	@CrossFit	CrossFit	8.01
20	@Ethicon	Ethicon	7.97
21	@NatureRevEndo	NatureRevEndocrinol	7.92
22	@BBCNews	BBC News (UK)	7.74
23	@TheEIU	The EIU	7.59
24	@itvnews	ITV News	7.42
25	@TheLancetEndo	Lancet Diabetes&Endo	7.41
26	@rcpsglasgow	RCPSG	7.33
27	@NPRFood	NPRFood	7.3
28	@NatRevGastroHep	NatureRevGastroHep	7.28
29	@DailyCaller	The Daily Caller	6.96
30	@hereandnow	Here & Now	6.77
31	@CSPI	CSPI	6.66
32	@WorldObesity	World Obesity	6.55
33	@SaludToday	SaludToday	6.52
34	@AmeriBev	AmeriBev	6.44
35	@actiononsugar	Action On Sugar	6.01
36	@HealthHabits	Health Habits	5.84
37	@AmerAcadPeds	Amer Acad Pediatrics	5.64
38	@ObesityAction	OAC	5.6
39	@PhilanthropicHR	Philanthropic Heart	5.57
40	@WCRF_UK	WCRF UK	5.54
41	@wcrfint	WCRF International	5.5
42	@DietDoctor1	Andreas Eenfeldt, MD	5.48
43	@OfficialNIHR	NIHR Research	5.23
44	@BostonGlobe	The Boston Globe	5.2
45	@uoftmedicine	UofT Medicine	4.75
46	@ncdalliance	NCD Alliance	4.74
47	@dna	dna	4.33
48	@activedevon	Active Devon	4.3
49	@TheAtlantic	The Atlantic	4.05
50	@UK_HF	UK Health Forum	3.98

 

At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Digital Health, Health and Fitness and GMO vs Organic Food) be sure to have a gander on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on twitter? We also build some very cool software to manage all of these influencers. Get a free demo today by clicking the button below!

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Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands and individuals listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion on obesity.

The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. These calculations are independent of a user’s number of followers, but we do filter our lists based on how much a user is engaged in the conversation and the influence they drive through their networks.

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