Well, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is trying. It's battling childhood obesity (Georgia is ranked second highest in the United States) with its new ad campaign, which has been labeled "grim" and "building a climate of hate" by critics.
The ads, which appear on the campaign’s website, strong4life.com, are modeled after blunt — but effective — campaigns attacking methamphetamine use and smoking.
In one spot, an overweight girl named Maritza says: “My doctors say I have something called hypertension. I’m really scared.” And in another, that ends with “Being fat takes the fun out of being a kid,” a child named Tina says she doesn’t like going to school because the other kids pick on her.
Critics say the ads will further ostracize children such as Tina. In posts on the Strong4Life Facebook page, they accuse the campaign of building a “climate of hate.”
What do you think? Will that be effective?
Carrie Teegardin of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the story: Link | Strong4Life website
I know there are mothers who continually feed their kids because they think they are being kind and that overweight kids look healthy, but that is delusional and needs to be dealt with. If such parents were harming their kids health in almost any other way they would be in serious trouble. Imagine a mother handing her kids cigarettes or alcohol at the school gates - she would be prosecuted. Parents who over feed their kids are guilty of child abuse.
Oh and Dennis X. Try and tease me into being skinny now and let's see how healthy you are at 60.