Update:
We reported below on the lengths Georgia has gone to to educate the community about childhood obesity. Now watch this video entitled “Stop the Cycle,” from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the organization behind Strong4Life.
“The stark video opens with an obese young man having a heart attack and then cycles back in time to illustrate how lifestyle choices, made by others for him as a child and by him as an adult, contributed to this end.”
The video aims to continue the conversation about the clinical reality of the long-term consequences of childhood obesity, and its complex causes, both societal and parental.
It’s very powerful. But will it change behaviour?
Georgia has the second highest childhood obesity rate in the United States, with nearly one in three children overweight.
Their solution to the problem? A new “Stop Child Obesity” campaign which doesn’t muck around with its messaging. The ads include tv ads and print ads with slogans such as “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid” and “Fat prevention begins at home. And the buffet line.”
The ads have won some praise for their attention-grabbing tactics. But they also have outraged parents, activists and academics who feel like the ads will bring on more stigma for an already bullied group of children.
The Georgia Children’s Health Alliance, which created the ads, said they were necessary to jar parents of obese kids out of a state of denial that their children had a problem.
ABC News reported that the ads were produced after the Alliance surveyed parents in two towns in Georgia. From The Huffington Post:
They discovered that 75 percent of parents with obese children were not aware that their children were overweight, while 50 percent of parents didn’t realize that childhood obesity was a problem to begin with. And in a state where nearly 40 percent of children are overweight or obese — Georgia is in 2nd place for childhood obesity rates nationwide, only behind Mississippi — these statistics are problematic.
Here are some of the ads so that you can watch and decide for yourself which side of the fence you sit on:
What do you think of the ads?
Comments
162 Comments so far
Wish they hadn’t used the word ‘fat’. Such a loaded and cruel word used for kids. These things need to be addressed but also the parents and children need to be educated, not just on healthy eating habits but in self confidence, that fat doesn’t define you and shame is a real thing kids can feel when it comes to weight.
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I am interested – what word(s) would you use instead of fat? I think these kids know they are fat, that isn’t the problem. They need help and kids should be able to look to their parents who appear to be failing on the food front.
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But they are fat. Euphemisms don’t help anyone. It makes it more direct and effective.
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No euphemisms but realistically, fat itself is not a bad thing. It’s “excess fat that is unhealthy” that is the phrase we should be using instead of just the single word “fat”. So many people are avoiding eating healthy fats because they associate food that contains fat with being fat. This is actually making themselves more unhealthy and fatter. Ergo, even more obesity.
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I know all that, but I think to get the ball rolling, most people would consider “fat” or “fatty food” to be chips, fried stuff, etc. Rather than going into the ins and outs of avocado being a fat but being a good fat, for people who are obese isn’t it easier to say fat is bad, and work from there once the fat is bad message sinks in?
If it’s not something you’re not interested in, bad fats and good fats aren’t going to get you any more interested.
Being fat leads to hypertension, diabetes, etc. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have it that simply in ads.
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Unless you go into the ins and outs of fat intake and how the body uses fat and stores it, you won’t change an obese person into a healthy person.
Obesity is not a simple issue solved by calling people fat. Calling people fat doesn’t even start the ball rolling … it sends people into hiding and shame.
Call it what it really is “excess fat that is unhealthy”.
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I don’t think it’s a simple issue about calling people fat.
I think that to kick things off, saying if you eat too much fat, you will be obese is a lot easier than even going into the simple (to you and me) ins and outs of intake, storage and the body’s use of fat. Once they get their heads around “too much fat = bad” and get used to the idea of cutting fat back, then bring in the nitty gritty. Avocado’s a good fat, but it’s still a fat and you need to watch your intake of it.
Too many words and concepts the message gets lost. “Fat = bad” or “Fat = Unfit” are far easier to get across than “Excess fat consumption leads to excess fat stored in the body”.
I compare it to the smoking campaign – what hits harder? “Smoking kills” or “Smoking has been proven to be a major contributor to heart disease and premature death”?
Just think the simpler, emotive messages are better to get people to think about what’s going on. Then get into the deeper stuff.
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The success of the antismoking campaign was largely due to taxes, limiting areas for smoking and providing quitline support to smokers. Calling people smokers or shaming them never came into it.
I can call myself fat but if you call me fat, then that is a judgment of me as a person that is loaded with shaming me. You cannot underestimate the power or words or language.
People know when they are fat, even if they are avoiding the idea. They already know it and all you have to do is work from that point with them. Judge them and you will send them running.
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Kris that is so oversimplified it is beyond wrong. The general gist of “fat is bad” is inherently incorrect. Overeating is bad. More to the point, SUGAR is bad. Sugar is a killer. The human body stores anything extra as fat, any carbohydrates/sugars you eat. Also too much salt is a major cause of hypertension. Saturated fats might clog your arteries, but fat in general is not the enemy and sending that message is a bad place to start. Claiming that this is a good way to get the ball rolling highlights exactly why education on nutrition is failing. How many parents try not to give their kids fatty foods but still have overweight children who eat 10 weetbix a day and drink gallons of fruit juice with no “added” sugar because its healthy? Lots!! The thing is that the human body doesn’t care that you are consuming natural sugar and lovely cereal full of fibre. If it doesn’t need that much fuel, it goes to your arse. Carbohydrate=sugar=fat=biggerarse
^thats the message we need to send out!
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It’s simplified for a reason. It has to be to get people to remember it and pay attention. And too much fat IS bad for you and makes you get fat. I haven’t said it’s the only reason, I have said it’s a kickoff point. If you can get people to reconsider their food choices about one part of it, you then have a stepping off point for other parts as well. They’re quick ads. The website has some good info. I don’t disagree that it takes a hell of a lot more information and education. But if people are at least trying to choose lower calorie options, isn’t that a good thing? That they’re paying attention and looking at that kind of info?
Not beyond wrong at all.
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No Kris, fat alone doesn’t make you get fat. Sugar is worse, believe me. The human body is an amazing thing. It turns every extra ounce of sugar into fat. A low fat diet is still quite often high in sugar. How many people eat low fat yoghurt and think it is good when actually it is absolutely loaded with sugar. Most people are fat because they are getting the wrong messages about nutrition or they eat too much. I don’t see how getting their attention by sending the message that fat is bad is going to be effective.
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Where have I said fat alone makes you fat? I haven’t said that at all. I am saying (again) that if it gets people thinking about what they’re feeding themselves and their kids, that’s a good thing and a starting point to further education. Think about American food that they are proud of and known for. It’s all fatty and yes, sugary. And huge serves. How many people do you seriously think will stick at changing everything about what they eat in one hit?
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I think the fat is bad message is a huge part of the problem, especially in the US where there’s low/no fat versions of everything. It makes people think healthy eating is just about avoiding fat, when in fact a great deal of low fat products are actually worse for you than the full fat original. Some US low fat products have more than 20 times the sugar of the full fat original. And often these products aren’t at all filling, as it’s the fat that satiates hunger, so people eat way too much and end up consuming more calories eating ‘diet’ foods than they would have done eating regular versions.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that obesity rates have risen sharply in the era of ‘low fat’. All the overweight, obese and constantly yo-yoing people I know are heavy consumers of ‘low fat’ food, whereas the healthiest people I know eat lot’s of good fats and wouldn’t go near diet yoghurt or light cheese. The former eat lower calorie foods, but way too much of them, while the latter eat higher calorie foods, but eat far less because their food satisfies them and keeps them full.
The US is the home of the ‘fat is bad’ mantra, and look how well it’s served them. Meanwhile, European countries embrace healthy fats, and they have nowhere near the problems the US has with obesity and disease.
Teach people about portion control, teach them to calculate how many calories they need, but most importantly, promote a healthy diet, which is an entirely different thing to a low-fat diet.
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Fat is a euphemism. Overweight and obese are more appropriate, otherwise we are using the same terms as the bullies in the school yard. FYI you can be unhealthy related to unhealthy eating habits and not be overweight or obese. Healthy eating and exercise is the issue, that should be priority not the number on the scales. The former will effect the latter.
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I know you can be skinny and unfit.
How many school kids get taunts like “overweight” and “obese” thrown at them?
The ads don’t talk about a number on scales – I think that’s a good thing. They let the pictures and simple messages speak for themselves. If their parents were fat kids too, they know what it’s like to be the fat kid too. I see nothing wrong with appealing to the popularity and not being able to take part angle.
What’s wrong with the kids saying “Help me not to be the fat kid anymore. It’s not fun, I’m sick of it and I’m sick!”?
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“for people who are obese isn’t it easier to say fat is bad, and work from there once the fat is bad message sinks in”
Wow, how grossly condescending does that sound. Assuming stupidity are we? Pretty sure the “fat is bad” message is well and truly out there. Why do you assume obese people are simple and can’t be educated on the complexities of food?
Oh yes it’s much better to not use numbers and just let images of children who are overweight to get the message across, that’s far better and won’t make children who identify with the images feel ashamed and targeted.
^sarcasm
I’ll say it again, they should be getting out the message of healthy eating and exercise. Educate, don’t shame and blame. Let health professionals classify weight ranges and weight categories.
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I’m not the one making the assumptions, Lea.
Clearly there is something going wrong between the message being out there and it being put into practice, otherwise we wouldn’t be up to series 8 or whatever it is of The Biggest Loser, where people prove they have no understanding of food intake and fat intake making them fat. We wouldn’t have a huge industry of people offering magic bullet weight loss products, gastric banding, etc etc if people DID get the seemingly simple messages about fat and food intake. Eating less shit and doing more exercise and doing that for life is how you get better.
What is so wrong with saying “Feeding your kids shit is making them fat and sick?”.
There aren’t that many people with thyroid or whatever issues.
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Very powerful.
I feel sick because of them and really sad.
So hopefully any parent with over weight kids also feel sad and sick and take a positive message from it all.
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I think these ads are great! My husband and I have both struggled with our weight all our lives and I think it’s stemmed from our parents and what they allowed us to eat as kids. My 2 year old loves feta cheese, hommus, water crackers, tuna, tomato and many other things I never even had offered as a child. I think the only way to treat the obesity epedemic is to target the kids as after that it’s too late
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I think it is good. It shows the emotional toll being overweight takes on a child. I do think that it is OK to bring up children being ‘fat’ and be PC at the same time. This isn’t about aspiring to be stick thin, this is the health and well being of young kids. Kudos to the campaign!
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But where does the ad say it’s about being healthy and not being stick thin? Where is the positive to balance the negative? I don’t see it in the ads. All I see is shame being used.
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Ok, true. But the child mentions that she has hypotension and then the mother mentions her daughter having type 2 diabetes. There is quite a bit of negative, as ads tend to use as shock value.
I guess the campaign is trying to target the parents who sometimes bow to pester power. Or just don’t realize that the food they eat can harm their kids..
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Wow. powerful and sad. Mostly I found them sad.
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Great campaign. It always saddens me when I’m at a food court and the lines are the longest at the junk food places, and the lines are packed with fat kids with fat parents. Roll out ads like this in australia.
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But I’m not in the food court for healthy food. I eat my healthy food at home.
In most of the food courts I’ve been to, there isn’t a healthy option. Certainly not a reasonably priced one. At my local the healthiest you can get is a sandwich. For $9! I don’t go to the food court expecting to get healthy food, because I know it’s not there. I go when I want junk.
The food court isn’t the best indicator of people’s food choices anyway, because everyone who eats there, fat or slim, is probably eating something that wasn’t a good choice.
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In Crunch Time, Michelle Bridges says to avoid Food Courts as it’s a choice between different types of crap.
The food options in the main drag here aren’t real flash, I have made a pact with myself to go a bit off the main drag and get food there if I need to when in town. Far more interesting, cheaper and tastier options are a 5 minute walk away!
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I think the problem is that a lot of people think it’s all or nothing. So because they know a Subway veggie delite isn’t an ideal option, they say fuck it and get a large quarter pounder meal. Just because there isn’t a great healthy option available doesn’t mean you should give yourself carte blanche to eat the unhealthiest thing you can find. There are always healthier options.
Obviously it doesn’t really matter if you only eat in a food court every few months. But some people can’t avoid food courts. For people who work in shopping centres, teenagers who meet friends there everyday after school and people who spend a lot of time there because that’s where their nearest supermarket, pharmacy etc. is, choosing a healthier option matters.
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I can’t watch the ads because my child is in the room. I’m not sure how I feel about this, but it can’t be a child’s fault they are overweight! The question is, will it work?
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They’re just kids talking about how they get picked on or they’ve been told they or their kid has diabetes or hypertension (!).
As to will it work? I hope so, but then I would imagine that things like type 2 diabetes and hypertension are something that are par for the course in many people’s lives and don’t see it as anything out of the ordinary or something they can do anything about.
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I think the ads are fantastic. They are real life, kids and parents talking to people who are just like them.
I am overweight and I have realised since having kids I was missing out on doing things they wanted me to do because I didnt want to embarass them with my weight problems. They are not overweight because I am very aware over what they eat and the quantities. I have been open with a promise to them to become fitter, not commenting about losing weight, because kids dont need to know about weight loss or watching their weight thats an adult problem. I can teach them quantities, styles of food, whats good every day foods and what is a treat and why, creating a great grounding for them to continue with.
I hope the message works not only in Georgia, but world wide.
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An excellent example of how to take a predominantly societal & corporate problem & turn it into one of individual fault; parental guilt-tripping comes free. And it’s in black-and-white so it’s all arty & stuff.
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So the parent doesn’t have any responsibility for what goes in their child’s mouth or their eating habits!?
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Exactly.
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I didn’t say the parent doesn’t have any responsibility. But they’re certainly not the ones responsible for things like this:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-11-17/us-rules-pizza-sauce-is-a-vegetable/3676284
“In an annual spending bill covering the US Department of Agriculture, which has oversight over subsidised school meals, a joint House-Senate panel voted to prevent the agency from restricting pizza, hot chips, and starchy vegetables.
“A Republican summary of the legislation was unveiled on Monday and may be approved this week.
“The report cheered the defeat of “overly burdensome and costly regulations” and hailed “greater flexibility for local school districts.”
“The American Frozen Food Institute industry lobby group hailed the measure, which it said “recognises the significant amounts of potassium, fibre and vitamins A and C provided by tomato paste and ensures that students may continue to enjoy healthy meals such as pizza and pasta.”"
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lulu, just like other major issues we need to think globally, act locally. I do believe that “lifestyle” health problems like heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes are a societal problem that is excerbated by corporations profit motivation. As families we need to make choices that are healthy and not be influenced by the hundreds of unhealthy messages that are “fed” to us everyday. We also need to agitate for change. I strongly believe is what Denmark has just done introducing a “fat tax” and before I hear cries of a nanny state this is just one of the ways that we can counter act the constant corporate messages we are bombarded with everyday. Along with community campaigns like the one we are talking about, public education, health education in schools etc. As adults we have to be responsible for our choices but sometimes encouragement like public education or disincentives like taxes help us to make better choices.
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In Jamie’s Food Revolution, the school boards qualified hot chips as a vegetable.
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Well said Lulu.
I’m not sure if things are the same in USA however I know there is a lot of community based education here in Melbs that work hard on promoting healthy eating. My kids receive community based, school based and home based health education. If it is the same in USA, and community ed is out there, then what is the harm in making families play their part as well.
Even AOP places some responsibility on the individual – not all, but some and perhaps these ads are creating awareness on an aspect of the problem that isn’t being dealt with. Perhaps it’s not as (arty) black and white as just being one persons (corporations, societys) problem.
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I don’t agree that it’s predominantly a social and corporate problem. Parents have the greatest influence and role in nourishing and guiding their children. I think one of the biggest problems with childhood obesity is the “it’s Macca’s fault, not mine” scapegoat. McDonalds and other “corporates” are businesses with a product to sell and profit to make. You are a parent with a healthy child to raise. Let’s not confuse our roles.
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And sorry – I should add that I agree that as a community we have a role in education and encouraging healthy lifestyles but I think the number one fundamental issue in addressing childhood obesity is ensuring that parents understand that they are the number one influence and must take responsibility for their children.
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Really?! So it’s not the parent’s fault they are buying bad food and not encouraging a child to exercise. The message has to start at home!
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I beg to differ. Yes it is societal in that It’s become acceptable to over eat and corporate in that big companies make lots of $$$ from people’s poor eating habits and aim their advertising at kids etc, but I think parents need to accept their part in their children’s health and recognize the role nutrition plays in health. If some feel guilty, then so be it. I agree with what JJ said about advertising broadcast times etc It will be interesting what effect this campaign has.
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Sorry Lulu, but the buck stops with the parents. They are the one’s with the decision-making power. They can CHOOSE what to feed their kids. Unless their is an underlying medical disorder complicating things a parent SHOULD feel guilt if their child is obese because it is their fault. Is this painful for that parent to confront? Of course. But the truth hurts and people don’t like to hear it.
How are things ever going to get better if parents don’t take ownership and control of the situation? Sure society and corporations are easy to blame, they are faceless, but the junkfood simply wouldn’t exist if individuals stopped buying it.
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I concur. As well as your point above about the US Congress classifying pizza as a vegetable (you have to remember that for a lot of US kids, their school provided meal is their best or only meal of the day), the US is prone to food deserts where fresh food is hard to come by. Plus, given the state of the economy in the US, the number of Americans basically living in poverty is astounding.
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Absolutely true, Cat! (Although I remember finding somewhere the actual facts relating to the “pizza sauce” thing and it was blown way out of proportion.)
Many of these “it’s the parents choice” comments are not taking into account the differences in culture between here and the US.
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I like the videos because they are aimed more at the parent than the child…and hopefully these would play during adult viewing hours, and not during general viewing hours…(if not, then not so happy with them…)
I’m less happy with the print ads that focus on the child…especially as there’s no way of preventing children seeing the print ads…I could see the print ads leading to bullying and body-image issues for some kids…
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No more so than the body-image and bullying pressures that already exist. Remember that kids can be cruel. An ad in a newspaper or in a bus shelter probably isn’t going to add much more to the load for the kids, but certainly allows it to be visual – and visually embarrassing, if you are the obese parent with an obese kid.
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…agree…but still not comfortable with adding more fuel to the fire for bullies to use…
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I agree. Happy with the ads targeting adults, but as an ex-fat kid, seeing them myself would only have added to the shame.
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I can see why some would be shocked and upset by these ads however I am not one of those people. I feel they’re shocking and upsetting only because they disrupt PCers and face reality.
These kids are overweight, they are unhappy and they need help. If parents in Georgia are too often turning a blind eye then they need to be faced with the harsh but real reality. Like the ads say, no more sugar-coating.
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A very small percentage of childhood obesity would be due to thyroid, endocrine or other medical problems. Most obese kids are just obese, and it’s time their parents realised their role in the kids’ weight management (and the fact that they hold the purse strings that feed their kids).
I think these ads strike the right balance between shock and proportioning the blame where it should go: negligent or ignorant parents.
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I agree totally!! And I don’t buy the ‘impoverished’ line either, I watched an obese family at a water theme park last week, they stuffed their faces with burgers, hot chips, ice blocks & my all time favorite for kids (insert sarcasm) coke!!! That would have cost alot more than the homemade ham & tomato sandwiches and yoghurt I prepared at home and took for my kids!! I just see these parents as lazy!! Too lazy to prepare good food & too lazy to say No! To kids constant requests for junk!
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Exclamation point!
We get it; you don’t like fat kids.
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The view of just say no is too simplistic…millions of $ are spent selling peoducts to children, all of them junk food, computer games etc, with less than 1% selling healthy messages. We allow our most vulnerable people (kids) to be subjected to these messages. Also obesity is a problem of low social economic status – wealthier people do not suffer from obesity at the levels that less wealthy groups do. When you have high levels of education, live near water, have more money the rates of obesity and overweight go down. The first place to look is ads for junk food which target children, it is not much different to allow cigarette companies to target kids. Stop them and maybe parents might have a better chance to just say no.
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That’s a point, but in the end, it’s not the kids buying the groceries and cooking dinner at night. It’s not the kids buying the chocolate and the chips and the coke. It’s the PARENTS, and there’s only so much influence a parent should let a child have over what they – and the rest of the family – eat.
People can bleat about junk food advertising to kids and how bad it is all they want, but at the end of the day it is the parents who are buying this stuff. ‘Just say no’ is not too simplistic.
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“‘Just say no’ is not too simplistic.”
Yeah, because it worked SO well as an anti-drug slogan in the 1980s.
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Talk about a straw argument!
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Huh? What straw argument? Maybe I’m showing my age, but that’s exactly I’m reminded of when I hear this constant chorus of “just say no!” as anti-obesity ‘advice’.
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“Just say no” actually is too simplistic if parents don’t know that what they are feeding their children is bad or causing their obesity. Many don;t even realise that obesity can potentially cause many health problems. We have to remember that poor nutrition and knowledge about personal health and hygeine is cyclic like many things. Parents can’t magically pass on knowledge and skills they don’t have, community education is crucial to breaking the cycle. Labelling these people lazy or not caring about their children is unhelpful.
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I disagree with that. In my experience, it’s the wealthier families that have larger health and weight issues. That’s just what I’ve seen and experienced.
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I wonder though if lower SES families are actually just less educated about nutrition, than they are lazy. I certainly agree that there are plenty of meals that are reasonably healthy that are cheaper than take away, but Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution showed that it was more than laziness. Many people are just not educated about nutrition and the health risks associated with obesity.
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Cindy is right, just telling parents to say no isn’t going to solve the problem. Parents are absolutely responsible for their kids health and wellbeing, but there is no doubt the healthy eating message can be easily undermined. Just think of the amount of junkfood at supermarket checkouts, junkfood sponsorship at sporting events, even chocolate fundraisers at school! It all adds up.
Anonymous also has a good point. Many parents aren’t educated about nutrition and need a supportive environment to help their kids be healthy and active. Australia does need to address the problem, 1 in 4 kids is overweight or obese. Georgia’s approach is interesting, but not sure guilting parents is going to work in the long-term. Parents need a healthy environment, as well as education, so Government and the food industry also have to play their part.
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Yep, agree. Product marketing has its part in this, too. I know plenty of people who think cordial and juice concentrates are fine alternatives to water and muesli bars are healthy when they often have the same amount of fat/sugar as a chocolate bar – because the packaging looks ‘wholesome’.
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