A series of videos from Georgia’s Strong4Life campaign shows quick black and white vignettes of overweight children, urging parents to stop sugarcoating the problem. In the episode featuring Tamika, the voiceover says, “I just always thought she was thick, like her mama.”
According to the campaign, more than 1 million kids in Georgia are overweight, making it the second-highest state for childhood obesity behind Mississippi. We know it’s a nationwide problem so we ask: Do you think these ads are effective?
Jackie Holness says
I like the ads…just a cursory look at the people you interact with everyday from children to adults is evidence enough that we typically eat too much and exercise too little…it’s an epidemic that must be addressed head on…
Brooke @ Lovesgumbo.com says
Not too much. We’ve got to recognize that we’ve got a real problem on our hands.
Tamerai says
If this is about the parents and what they are not doing right why does the little girl have to be the one being humiliated as the face of this campaign. I think that the ad is a bit insensitive. Is this what we do to parents that have kids with mental illness or drug issues. I agree that there is work to do…but let’s not tear down our kids or make them feel inferior or less than in the process. I predict more shame, more isolation, increased low self-esteem and therefore more obesity. Let’s peel the onion and start at the root vs. attacking the symptoms. I was always taught demonstrate best practices vs. focusing on bad ones. I think it would be more effective to show families getting the it in (excercising and having fun together) with a tag line of some sort.
Jackie Holness says
Yeah, that may be a nicer approach…but it won’t get people talking about it and thinking about it…which is what we are doing now since the ad was so “in your face.”
Anonymous says
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. https://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.
https://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:
https://issuu.com/naafa/docs/naafa_childadvocacy2011combined_v04?viewMode=magazine&mode=embed