Are health ads targeting 'fat kids' too much?

cNhobbes

I'm not sure where I stand on this issue, but i saw this article while online surfing and thought it made some interesting points for both sides. The article is short but if you're too lazy to cut/paste the link, here's the text. I'd love to see what people have to say about this.

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/01/04/are-georgia-anti-obesity-ads-too-harsh?hpt=hp_c2

Are health ads targeting 'fat kids' too much?

An in-your-face ad campaign aimed at ending Georgia's childhood obesity epidemic is hitting some nerves. Some of the controversial ads are almost hard to watch, and people are reacting strongly.

The ads are part of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta's "Strong4Life" campaign. They feature children and family members speaking frankly about being fat.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution says Children’s Healthcare wanted to create a no-nonsense approach after their research found that 50 percent of people surveyed didn't recognize childhood obesity as a problem and 75 percent of parents with overweight or obese kids did not see their children as having a weight issue.

So do the ads deliver a much-needed dose of straight talk to parents and kids about a serious health problem? Or is shaming kids and parents just piling it on for folks who are already hurting?

In one ad, little Bobby sits down face-to-face with his clearly obese mom and asks her poignantly, "Mom, why am I fat?"

In another, a mom tries to rationalize her daughter's weight problem away. “Being thick runs in our family,” she says. "As her mom I never noticed Tamika eating any differently than the rest of us. She likes junk food, but what kid doesn’t? When the doctor said she had Type 2 diabetes, I never thought what we eat made her sick. I just always thought she was thick like her mama.”

Stark taglines are black-and-white clear. "Stop sugar-coating it, Georgia." Another rings all too true for anyone whose struggled with with weight issues: “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid.”

An executive for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta says the strong words, and their support programs, can help save lives.

"We needed something that was more arresting and in your face than some of the flowery campaigns out there," said Linda Matzigkeit, senior vice president of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, told ABC News.

"If we do not wake up, this will be disastrous for our state," Matzigkeit told ABC. Georgia currently has the second highest rate of childhood obesity in the nation.

But does the campaign amount to bullying?

The messages have been condemned by the Obesity Action Coalition, which wrote a strongly worded statement decrying the campaign for ideas that “greatly promote the negative stigma, weight bias and bullying often associated with obesity and childhood obesity.”

“While we agree with the Georgia Children’s Health Alliance that a need for increased awareness centered on childhood obesity is great, we absolutely condemn the imagery, content and focus of the campaign,” the group said in a statement.

On the Facebook page for the "Strong4Life" campaign some have called the advertisements insensitive. Preston S. wrote:

Let's start a campaign that singles out ALL people unemployed. Because everyone that is unemployed is lazy and its their fault. It has nothing to do with factors outside of their control. Just like being overweight and obese has nothing to do with heredity or socio economic status. Let's have real pictures of unemployed people with ‘I am worthless’ or ‘I am just a lazy piece of crap’. Sounds like it would work.

The tough-love approach has its fans too. Teowai R. wrote:

I think this is a great campaign. Its aimed at parents. They have to face the reality that what they feed their kids is affecting more than just their appetite.

Do you think the ads cross the line? Or do you think too many people really are "sugarcoating" the problem? Have you struggled, or watched a child you love struggle, with being overweight?

Nerdy_Rose

I don't think socio economic status has to effect obesity. My family was, pardon me, piss poor when I was growing up, so my mom was very creative in cooking for us. I never ate fast food until I was a teenager and more out on my own.

cNhobbes

hmm interesting. i agree that being poor doesnt' have to affect eating habits but i think location, culture, and sheer will do affect it to an extent. in regards to the article, i guess i'd like to know what percentage of kids are obese due to factors that are beyond their or their parents' control.

TinaDay1114

I have mixed feelings...I think the ad is telling the truth, and trying to do that in the most honest way they can -- I applaud that. However, I've never felt like ads like this really affect people all that much. Sure, it sparks controversy, and maybe some conversation, but I don't think anyone changes their lives from a TV ad, well-intentioned or not.

Having young kids at home, I'm also realizing lately how many messages are out there (especially on TV) about weight, weight-loss, diets, diet food, etc. I know it's an important topic, and I know many of us are struggling with these questions and how to address them, but my 8-yr-old boy even asks me if he's going to be fat if he eats too much, and can repeat all the Jenny Craig / Weight Watchers / Bally's Fitness jingles by heart. That's scary. I'd hate to see what girls his age are dealing with.

We stress healthy eating and fueling your body at home, and I'm not saying he's getting that message JUST from TV. But boy, those ads are everywhere -- TV, magazines, bookstores. It's a little too much.

TinaDay1114

hmm interesting. i agree that being poor doesnt' have to affect eating habits but i think location, culture, and sheer will do affect it to an extent.

I agree -- I lived in downtown Baltimore for a while in my 20's, and if you didn't have a car, your choices of fresh food were EXTREMELY limited. My local grocery store that was w/in walking distance stocked tons of Rice-A-Roni, pork rinds, and other highly processed and cheap foods, 'cause that's what they could keep and sell. I had to go about 5-10 miles away to get fresh stuff at a larger grocery store in a "white collar" / yuppie neighborhood. It opened my eyes to some of the issues poorer city dwellers face daily.

Nerdy_Rose

I think there are two opposite, equally awful extremes that are far too prevalent in American society: young girls who are perfectly healthy developing eating disorders from media bombardment, and obese children who think they're perfectly fine. The happy medium won't be found through advertising campaigns... parents and other adult role models need to get involved and be aware or these kids are doomed.

cNhobbes

I think there are two opposite, equally awful extremes that are far too prevalent in American society: young girls who are perfectly healthy developing eating disorders from media bombardment, and obese children who think they're perfectly fine. The happy medium won't be found through advertising campaigns... parents and other adult role models need to get involved and be aware or these kids are doomed.

well said!

TinaDay1114

parents and other adult role models need to get involved and be aware or these kids are doomed.

^^ THIS. Times 10. There's a reason parenting is not always fun OR easy -- it's hard work. But worth it, if you can make happy healthy grown ups.

iuangina

I see this campaign as a wake up call for the parents. Too many parents don't see their overweight kids as a problem. I don't think it's directed at the children at all. I think it needs to be done in conjuction with education programs provided free of charge to parents and children so they can learn how to fix it/prevent it in the first place. I personally believe that hospitals should provide information about classes to parents before they leave the hospital after the birth. I think that learning about how to raise healthy and happy kids is super important but it starts well before they can eat solid foods.