Ga. childhood obesity PSAs spark controversy

By: Ryan Jaslow
Topics: News ,; Kids and family ,; Diet ,; Food and Drink

(CBS) Childhood obesity public service announcements airing in Georgia have some critics crying foul that the dark-themed ads featuring grim overweight kids could backfire.

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"We felt like we needed a very arresting, abrupt campaign that said: 'Hey, Georgia! Wake up. This is a problem,' " Linda Matzigkeit, a senior vice president at Children's Healthcare, a co-sponsor of the ads, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The commercials, made by an organization called Strong4Life, show overweight kids describing how other kids pick on them or how their health has been impacted because they are overweight. There are five ads featuring five different children, which end with taglines like "being fat takes the fun out of being a kid," or "some diseases aren't just for adults anymore."

The ads are part of a $50 million campaign in Georgia where nearly one million kids are obese and 75 percent of parents of an obese child don't recognize it as a problem, Strong4Life says. It's the second worse obesity rate in the country behind Mississippi.

"Ignoring this problem is what got us here," Strong4Life says on its website. "It's time to wake up."

Some critics think the ads may backfire because they only shock, but don't offer helpful solutions.

"We know from communication research that when we highlight a health risk but fail to provide actionable steps people can take to prevent it, the response is often either denial or some other dysfunctional behavior," Karen Hilyard, a health communication researcher at the University of Georgia told the Journal-Constitution.

Dr. Marsha Davis, a child obesity prevention researcher at the University of Georgia's College of Public Health, added to the paper. "In terms of the social stigma about weight - it might actually make people feel worse about that."

The paper reports a new phase of the campaign is coming soon that may also offend some Georgians.

Back in May, billboards and online videos from the campaign circulated which also drew criticism, CBS News reported.

"Billboards depicting fat kids are extraordinarily harmful to the very kids they are supposedly trying to help," the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance said at the time.

What do you think of the ads?

8 Comments +

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by BlancheK January 25, 2012 4:13 AM EST: It's hard to understand the argument that this is genuine concern for children's health and not simply about esthetics, especially when you film your model "fat" child riding her scooter with a big flower on her head, rather than a helmet!; Reply to this comment


by rwoodard77 January 7, 2012 6:54 PM EST: This is silly. Overweight and obese kids are going to be bullied no matter what you put up there. It is a fact of life that the rest of us like to ignore until some bullied kid takes more than he/she can take and pulls a "Columbine". Then we like to weep for the dead kids. Nothing you put up there is going to stop or start abuse, that comes from lack of parenting on the part of the abusers. I applaud GA for making an attempt to raise awareness, but we are going to continue to have obese kids and Columbines, just get used to it. You can't simply blame parents for the kids being obese, foods, TV, video games, or the kids themselves. The blame rest squarely on society.; Reply to this comment


by Eric_Starson January 4, 2012 11:42 PM EST: Looks like parents everywhere--not just in Georgia--think their kids' diets are better than they are:
http://nutritionfacts.org/videos/mothers-overestimate-dietary-quality/
(great site, excellent videos); Reply to this comment


by EggfaceV January 4, 2012 10:01 AM EST: The ad campaign offers zero solutions to the childhood obesity crisis. Zero. How about sharing healthy eating and cooking tips, fun family fitness ideas, information on nutritional label reading? Provide helpful instead of hurtful information: Picture of a child and Mom jumping rope together with the caption, "Did you know? You can burn 200 calories with 20 minutes of jump rope" or picture of a family sitting around a dining table with the caption, "Eating together is a chance to model healthy behavior." Some solutions versus shame and stigma.

Oh and I can hear the jeers and bullying now, "You should be one of those kids in the ads" I'd hate to be an overweight or obese child in Georgia right now. I'd probably go home and eat away my pain. By the way I was an obese child and obese adult for most of my life, so if you think that won't happen I'm telling you from experience it will.; Reply to this comment


by radfatty January 3, 2012 12:33 AM EST: I would like to recommend the free NAAFA Child Advocacy ToolkitSM (CATK) and other written guidelines/resources to assist you looking at programs. The total health of our nation's children is a serious responsibility.

A Yale Rudd Center report reviewed existing research on weight stigma in children and adolescents, with attention to the nature and extent of weight bias toward obese youths and to the primary sources of stigma in their lives, including peers, educators, and parents. As a result of weight bias and discrimination, obese children suffer psychological, social, and health-related consequences. Substantial change is needed to combat this bias. http://www.yaleruddcenter.org/resources/upload/docs/what/bias/StigmaObesityChildrensHealth.pdf

Rebecca Puhl of the Rudd Center further brings to light the stigmatization of large children in the following article.
http://www.obesityaction.org/magazine/oacnews7/Childhood%20Obesity%20and%20Stigma.pdf

The NAAFA Child Advocacy Toolkit shows how Health At Every Size® takes the focus off weight and directs it to healthful eating and enjoyable movement. It addresses the bullying, building positive self-image and eliminating stigmatization of large children. Additionally, the CATK lists resources available to parents and educators or caregivers for educational materials, curriculum and programming that is beneficial for all children. It can be found at:
http://issuu.com/naafa/docs/naafa_childadvocacy2011combined_v04?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed; Reply to this comment


by ronjula-2009 January 2, 2012 11:22 PM EST: why is it always a child of Blacks who are fat? from what i've witnessed, there are more and more hispanics fat than any other race, especially in florida, n.j.,n.y.ca, and elsewhere. get this right, when you mention fat children and adults.; Reply to this comment


by jimbom121 January 2, 2012 9:08 PM EST: Given the issues around obesity, not just with health, but the future cost, this is something that needs to be addressed.; Reply to this comment


by curious2knownow January 2, 2012 7:24 PM EST: Some people complain about everything. At least this organization is doing something instead of setting on their rear ends complaining about how others are trying to get the word out that FAT is not good!; Reply to this comment