Fat Shame?
Feb 8th, 2012
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta recently released a campaign to target Georgia’s growing childhood obesity epidemic. 40% of the children in Georgia are considered obese – the second highest number in the nation. The ads were intentionally created to stir your emotions.
From CNN: The posters and TV spots of obese children with doleful eyes were as stark as their accompanying messages: “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid,” and “It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re not,” to name a few.
But did they go too far? Mommy bloggerville lit up on this issue. Most came out rallying against the ads. One mom had this to say, “When I first saw the Strong4Life billboards, my first reaction was wanting to cry and sleep in my room and eat a box of Twinkies. It touched me that much.” She went on to say that she was a morbidly obese adult who lost 100 pounds after having her kids. That comment gave me pause. While I think it is wonderful she was able to beat her obesity problem, the fact is, most people never do. Healthy habits HAVE TO start at a young age. Healthy habits HAVE TO be supported by parents. Healthy Habits HAVE TO be adopted as a lifestyle not a fleeting diet. But do these ads get parents moving in the right direction or just create more ‘fat shame’ for overweight kids?
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Written by Lea Barlow • Leave a comment
