World Obesity Image Bank – new photographs from Asia and Africa
World Obesity Federation have expanded their free Image Bank of non-stigmatising photographs to include images from two new countries: India, and Nigeria.
More than 200 new images have been added to the database, depicting scenes of family life, the working day, social and home environments, physical activity, and food preparation. The images were created in collaboration with The Obesity Society of Nigeria (TOSN) and the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), with funding by Novo Nordisk. Other countries already represented in the collection are the UK, Brazil, and United Arab Emirates.
In the media and other public forums, imagery used to depict obesity is often stigmatising and suggests that people with obesity are lazy, greedy, or lack willpower. These images tend to overemphasise specific individual behaviours, such as consuming junk food. They depersonalise obesity by showing isolated body parts, particularly people’s abdomens, and they cast people with obesity in a negative light.
This type of imagery risks simplifying obesity and fails to capture the wider drivers and determinants of the disease. Negative images of people living with obesity can reinforce misconceptions about obesity and contribute to weight stigma. The World Obesity Image Bank exists to address this and provide non-stigmatising imagery for free to anyone who wishes to use it.
We strive to provide resources that reflect the diversity of the global obesity community. The new photographs were specially commissioned from parts of the world that are not yet represented in the Image Bank, with expert support from World Obesity member organisations. They were taken in early 2022 and represent scenes of everyday life featuring accurate, non-biased and respectful depictions of people living with obesity.
In Nigeria, photographic Studio B2B completed photoshoots in Ebonyi state with the support of Urudinachi Agbo of TOSN. The resulting images show men and women visiting healthcare professionals, exercising outdoors, and shopping for food. The photoshoot in India was coordinated by Trikuta Communications Ltd, with support from Shalini Bassi of PHFI. Subjects include a visit to the doctors, shopping for food, exercising outdoors, the working day, and social and family life.
The World Obesity Image Bank
Our Image Bank forms a gallery of free-to-use images to ensure accurate, non-biased, respectful images are widely available.
IMAGE BANK