Sad

I am sadden and disturbed by the Georgia Obesity Ad Campaign toward “fighting childhood obesity”. Or as I think of it: Ad Campaign to “destroy children’s confidence and misplace the blame of childhood obesity”.

Look at these horrible posters they’re using in the campaign:




The message itself isn’t bad … what is bad are the photos. They are exploiting children rather than showing pictures of the obese parents waiting at drive through windows for dinner. Or maybe show the portion sizes of the food that most parents serve their kids compared to what they should be eating.

I find this ad extremely inappropriate

As someone who’s been overweight most of life and who’s parents used to push membership in the clean plate club. I can understand where some of the blame lies. I also know what it’s like to constantly called fat and who was looked down on by other parents and children I understand the emotions these kids feel and how humiliating being overweight can be. As someone who learned little to nothing about fitness and nutrition in school I can understand how this epidemic has reached this point.

If you were an overweight kid and you saw any of these posters or commercials can you imagine how you’d feel? Seriously think about that for a second …

I know most people would want to curl up in a ball and hide in your room if you saw a kid that looked like yourself in that as. Do you really think children ask their parents why they are overweight? Do you think you’re doing to suddenly just figure out what you need to change to get healthy? Do you think any parents are going to look at these pictures and suddenly have an epiphany to change their ways because they see that ad?

As a previously overweight kid I know that these photos do nothing but hurt children’s confidence and self-esteem and that they’ll certainly do little to nothing to help address this epidemic.

Now if you’d put the parents in those photos waiting in fast food drive lines, eating the crazy portion sizes, or perhaps sitting in front of TV eating dinner that’d be interesting. I’m sure they’re afraid of angering the fast food or restaurant lobbyist though so that’d never happen. Instead they choose to take advantage of children already struggling to find themselves or their place in society.

Instead of tearing children like this down, let’s build them up. Show them how to make good choices. The blame and responsibility of childhood obesity lays with the adults, the parents, and the educators, not the children.