Childhood obesity billboards too much??

wriglucy

These billboards need to be everywhere!!!!

ruth1104

Maybe this would be helpful if only parents were going to see it, but kids are too and I can just imagine that this becomes nasty ammunition for school bullies.. Will that be helpful in tackling childhood obesity? Probably not

Shawna_831

I understand where some of you are coming from with the concern for the children who are on these ads. As a mother, I can not help but feel for the child and think about the hell they are going to endure in school. But as a mother, I can not help but to think how I never want my child to endure any of that. As a mother, I want my child to live a long and healthy life. People say that these kids will be teased for being up on these billboards but they already are for just being overweight. Maybe by being up on these ads they are taking the steps needed to make that life change.

rockabyesarojane

i think it's is the slap in the face our society needs. we need to stop enabling just b/c we think we're being nice. stop being nice and start showing that you care with a little tough love.

emmahutchy

I think the USA need that show 'honey we're killing the kids'. It showed how your kids would look if they still lived on junk and what their health would be. Some of the results where shocking.
I think the boards are good idea, especially in a town the ranked 2nd with number of obease. You know theres a problem when you have to hide certain foods from your kids.

joleciamichelle

I think I have mixed feelings. I think a wake up call IS needed but posting the kids I don't agree with. I like the commercials like the commercials that show mom's taking control of THEIR KITCHENS! Putting THEM The PARENT as the face of responsibility. Kids are a product of their environment, should have put the fat parents ON the billboard NOT the kids. But with a firm but positive message about making change for the sake of the kids.

I agree also that a wake up call is needed. I was an obese kid. I was 120lbs at 5 and 200lbs by the time I was 10 and 300lbs by the time I was 13. My parents had their own weight problems and I was morbidly obese before I even noticed something was wrong. HOWEVER, I agree with Jena that they need to promote healthier lifestyles, not exploit the suffering children. Show families exercising together or cooking together. We KNOW there is a problem but the parents of obese kids need to see the SOLUTION. Using my parents as an example, they had their own weight and personal struggles and I think it was just overwhelming for them to also have two obese children to deal with as well. Trust me, most people with obese kids KNOW that it is a problem and if they don't the media shoves the obesity epidemic down our throats every chance we get anyways so they can't avoid it for long. Also, it's not just obese kids that could benefit from something like this ALL AMERICAN FAMILIES NEED TO BE HEALTHIER. Plain and simple. Stop doing what all of society is doing and making fat kids feel ashamed and helpless-we can do that well enough on our own.

123456654321

I can see both sides of this issue. I just wish there was a way to target the parents without potentially causing more problems for the kids in school. I can just see kids saying "You look like the billboard fatty! You're gonna have diabetes" and things like that. I do agree that we need a slap in the face, I'm just not so positive this is the best way. I don't have a better suggestion either though... *shrug*

SeattleLady

When I was a child, I was told during puberty by several adults that I needed to watch my weight, and put on various diets. I was even offered $2000 to lose a certain amount of weight. At the time, I had no tools to do this. I was given adult responsibilities of taking care of my brothers and sisters, was not interested in sports and was responsible for cooking for the family. The food that was purchased was high in processed fats and carbohydrates. I was told to do something that would mean starving myself or going without the normal childhood joys such as ice cream or candy. It created a cycle of shame that took me 30 years to break. I do not agree that these children should be exploited, but I do agree that parents need education. And I really wish they had had that education prior to raising children to believe they were worthless and had no self control.

MisdemeanorM

I think the fact that some people find them offensive is a problem! Oh, poor fat kid on the billboard. Those kids on the billboard are probably a ton emotionally better off, because odds are, since they are identified, and by people who understand, they are getting help. And it looks like there are... what, 1/2 dozen of them at most? Just wanting to sweep it under the rug so no one gets hurt of offended or uncomfortable etc is a huge part of the problem. Not being able to say "this is wrong - you should not feed your kid junk all the time - look at them!" is wrong.

The "poor fat kids" are the ones that no one is doing anything about (and by no one, I mean parents) and are likely going through all sorts of emotional scaring at a young age, and building up for even more as they grow older, not to mention the health impact as well. I saw a 3 yr old that had to have weighed 50 or more lbs! A 3 yr old!!! It was awful. There is no way that kid is not going to always struggle with his weight or likely be very sick from it.

What if the billboards were for people to donate to doctors who do facial reconstruction and feature a child with a cleft pallet? Same concept and I don't know that people would say that was exploiting that child, too shocking, bad for the kid's self esteem etc. People are very visual - they need to see things, and they, unfortunately need things broken down Barney-style for them to grasp it or have it impact them.

Solomonre0

I really don't think that any parent would be forcing their child into this situation. Therefore I'm supposing the the children who have their face on the billboards are okay with it. I don't think that the billboards are wrong in any way, but I wonder how much good they would actually do. Do people pay that much attention to them? (I come from a state without billboards so I don't know how much impact they have)

TedTorres

Those offended by these billboards are part of the problem. We need to stop being nice and start addressing the issues concerning the children of our society. These billboards make it hard to turn away because real faces are put on the issue. These are real kids with real health issues. They are in every neighborhood in our great country. Not only do I support these billboards, but I think they should be posted in every city in the country.

123456654321

I wonder how much good they would actually do. Do people pay that much attention to them? (I come from a state without billboards so I don't know how much impact they have)

They must work for some people because companies are still paying the money to advertise on them. I personally don't pay them any attention and for the most part I find them obnoxious.

edorice

Wake up call.

exercisesucks

I know this may sound weird to everyone that knows me. But, I dont think the kid should be on that billboard.....by himself. He should be up there with his parents because that kid doesnt buy his own food or have his own car to go to the drive thru. Parents that allow their children to be obese are committing child abuse. This NEGLECT (i said it) sets the child up to be bullied, ridiculed, and DEAD before his or her parents. We are the parents. The decision of what to eat begins and ends with us. I'll be damned if my kid tells me they wont eat their vegetables. They will wake up with a bed full of broccoli. I will buy broccoli flavored toothpaste and will feed them nothing but bread and water (and a Flintstones vitamin) before they tell me their FATHER, what they are and are not going to do. Parents, wake up and do your job! Your children need you to.

MisdemeanorM

I know this may sound weird to everyone that knows me. But, I dont think the kid should be on that billboard.....by himself. He should be up there with his parents because that kid doesnt buy his own food or have his own car to go to the drive thru. Parents that allow their children to be obese are committing child abuse. This NEGLECT (i said it) sets the child up to be bullied, ridiculed, and DEAD before his or her parents. We are the parents. The decision of what to eat begins and ends with us. I'll be damned if my kid tells me they wont eat their vegetables. They will wake up with a bed full of broccoli. I will buy broccoli flavored toothpaste and will feed them nothing but bread and water (and a Flintstones vitamin) before they tell me their FATHER, what they are and are not going to do. Parents, wake up and do your job! Your children need you to.

I agree here. I was thinking that - like put up some fat parents and a fat kid with messages like "look what you're doing to your children" or something... my kid eats what i tell him to or he doesn't eat (though, there are some things - he doesn't like peppers so he doesn't have to eat them...). It's not that hard though because he has grown up expected to eat veggies and he likes them about just as much as he likes his junk food (which I do not ban). I actually have to hid my broccoli servings from him or he will eat them all as he loves "little trees".

Obese children are not typically the kids of fit or healthy parents.

I wanted to see the video they started to play but talked over since the kid was saying something about how his dad always buys potato chips.

dlaplume2

While I think we clearly have an issue on our hands about childhood obessity; we also have one of overall obesity. I think they should have had an overwieght couple holding a baby. To put a kids face on there is asking for trouble and kids will get teased and taunted. I think the idea is to appeal to adults, to point out that their behavior impacts their children. Why not start out when they are young.

Maybe they should have a postive spin on it, showing kids playing and eating healthy and saying that parents who eat healthy have kids who eat healthy. I just don't see why it has to be so negative.

godblessourhome

i agree with it. like no one realized that child was obese before being on a billboard? i like that you can go to the website and hear their stories. two of the kids say that the other kids in school pick on them and it hurts their feelings. one kid says he hates vegetables and hides chips under his bed to eat later. one child has diabetes.

however, searching for 'stopchildhoodobesity.com', i ran across two separate sites 'stop-childhood-obesity.com' and 'stopchildhoodobesity.org'. the .org takes you to a fad diet site! what if, by chance, a parent is motivated to look online for help from stopchildhoodobesity.com because of the billboards, isn't sure of the name and googles it, and then the fad diet shows up? how is that helpful? i wish they had taken 5 minutes to think about the web address name and a few hundred dollars to buy all the variations. bad planning on their part.

Alita2011

I think they are great. Especially considering they are using the real stories of real children. As with everything, people will take it the wrong way and become even more entrenched on the opposite side. That speaks more to the ignorance and laziness of those people than to the signs themselves.

My thoughts EXACTLY!!!!

BigBoneSista

I think this is a good thing. Sometimes we need to put a face to the problem. You have people out there saying not my kid. Ummm yes your kid. Your neighbors kids. Anybody's kids. No matter what race or status.

My son was overweight & I didn't realize it. We were calling him Gibbie (the chubby boy from iCarly) because he likes to take his shirt off and walk around the house like him. I'm thinking my son is just a little chubby and his doctor was like yes he is chubby but thats the same as being overweight. She said he is going to be tall and probably will thin out but she wanted him to lose 15 lbs. When she told me he was overweight I was floored. A 10 year old needing to lose weight. My 10 year old! I vowed that this wasn't going to ever happen again. With that a healthier way of living was established for my kids.

Childhood obesity is out of control. I had my blinders remove. A lot of other people need to do the same.

123456654321

Maybe they should have a postive spin on it, showing kids playing and eating healthy and saying that parents who eat healthy have kids who eat healthy. I just don't see why it has to be so negative.

I think because negative usually makes a stronger impact. Ever notice when you look back on your life the painful things seem to be a little more vivid? I think they used the more negative side of things so that it stuck with people. In that regard, it's doing it's job, you can see that by all the discussion it's generating. Had they showed healthy children playing, I doubt it would have made any news at all.

jmwolffyy

I think the real question is, are they making a difference? If they are, then they are a step in the right direction. If the families who are being targeted by these billboards are ignoring them or worse, reacting to them by increasing their fast food runs (an example only), then they should not be up. My other question is about the kids who are shown. How do they feel about their story being depicted in such a way? What is happening in school because of these billboards? Are they mini-celebrities and their peers are proud to know them, or are they becoming more targeted? Let's help the kids, but not at the expense of others.

ladyhawk00

I don't know that the billboards are good or bad - I suspect overall they may help a few, but in light of the cost may not be very cost-effective. I don't have a problem with the kids being on them, but I agree the parents probably should have been on them too.

I think the much larger issue, as several have pointed out, is education. It's a vicious cycle. We grow up with no nutrition education, pregnant women have no idea what/how to eat, mothers begin teaching their children bad eating habits immediately, parents indulge their kids with food and use food as rewards/punishments, and kids go to school and have pizza and soda in the school cafeteria.

Who is at fault here? Everyone, except the kids.

If children are brought up with good eating/exercise habits, they are much more likely to maintain those. That includes at home and in school, and when eating out, and at friends’ houses – everywhere.

Parents, schools, policy makers, food companies and the media all need to be held accountable for what is happening in the U.S. I'm hardly a proponent of government regulation, but this is one area where letting the free market run amok has not instituted the kind of self-regulation that would solve the problem. Food companies need to be required to make food healthier, and not be allowed to use misleading or false advertising. School administrators, and whoever funds them (district, state, federal agencies), need to be held accountable for what is served in the cafeterias, and for teaching children about nutrition. And more education needs to be aimed at parents in a direct and useful way.

Think about how many posts there are daily here that reflect poor nutrition education:
"How do I increase my protein?"
"How do I decrease my carbs/What are good carbs?"
"Should I eat fruit, even though it has sugar?"
And on, and on, and on.

This is pretty basic stuff, that everyone should know. And while personal responsibility should never be thrown out the window, it’s awfully hard to blame it on an individual when everything they’ve been taught and everything they see leads them down the wrong path. From unhealthy eating habits in the parents’ home, to the downright false advertising from food companies and fast food (McD’s current ad is that their food is “real” so it must be good for you, right?), we are all bombarded with info that teaches us how to be obese – not healthy. And we’re all at fault, because we don’t make it a priority to change the system.

Obviously, many of us are doing more to improve our health, and the health of our families, but stopping there won’t fix the problem. The billboards may help, but there needs to be an overhaul of how we approach the whole system.

GiGi76

I know this may sound weird to everyone that knows me. But, I dont think the kid should be on that billboard.....by himself. He should be up there with his parents because that kid doesnt buy his own food or have his own car to go to the drive thru. Parents that allow their children to be obese are committing child abuse. This NEGLECT (i said it) sets the child up to be bullied, ridiculed, and DEAD before his or her parents. We are the parents. The decision of what to eat begins and ends with us. I'll be damned if my kid tells me they wont eat their vegetables. They will wake up with a bed full of broccoli. I will buy broccoli flavored toothpaste and will feed them nothing but bread and water (and a Flintstones vitamin) before they tell me their FATHER, what they are and are not going to do. Parents, wake up and do your job! Your children need you to.

Agree!!! You hit the nail on the head!!!!

Shawna_831

Putting the parents up on the billboards with their kids is a great idea!