Childhood obesity billboards too much??

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!