Is Georgia's Anti-Obesity Campaign a form of bullying?

The Georgia anti-childhood obesity campaign featuring overweight children has been called shocking and sparked heated debate across the country. Now it has attracted the attention of the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), who has equated the advertisements to bullying.

“Every day we hear about the terrible rise in bullying within our schools, yet this ad campaign could actually promote and give permission to such behaviors among kids,” Lynn Grefe, president and CEO of NEDA, said in a press release. “Sadly, these ads will be successful in shaming children with weight problems and their parents, but will do nothing to promote and educate about wellness and emotional well-being. Shame on Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta … not shame on the local kids.”

Grefe also calls for an end to the campaign: “Responsibility starts with them pulling the ads.”

The Strong4Life campaign, sponsored by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, feature black-and-white images of overweight and obese children along with the tagline, “Stop sugarcoating it, Georgia.” In one of the commercials, an overweight teen asks his mother, “Mom, why am I fat?”

The campaign has inspired debate since its launch in September. Some have said the campaign could increase social stigma about weight, while others have said the campaign only highlights the problem without providing a solution.

“This is the shock-and-awe strategy. Overweight kids don’t think they’re not overweight. You’re not telling them anything they didn’t know,” Kerri Boutelle, an associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, who has researched how to curb children’s overeating, told Time, adding that the campaign is “very aggressive.”

Organizers of the campaign, however, are sticking by their plan. “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, who leads the system’s wellness projects, told The Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Martzigeit says there are no plans to pull the ads. In fact, Strong4Life is preparing to launch the next phase of its campaign — and critics of the first phase may not be as enthused about it either. “The whole goal of this is to get the discussion going,” she told the AJC. “I love that it sparks dialogue, and a great dialogue has two sides.”
What Everyday Health Readers Are Saying

Experts aren’t the only ones weighing in on the controversial campaign. Everyday Health readers left passionate comments — some supportive; others critical.

“These ads are fantastic. The people involved, kids and adults, should be thanked, applauded, and given all the support they need to become healthier,” an anonymous reader wrote. “I live in GA and sadly this message is right on target. We must get the childhood (and adult) obesity issue under control. My eight-year-old daughter has several friends who are obese. It breaks my heart.”

Others argued that the tactic of the ads may not get the desired effect. “I have been heavy most of my life and the more someone told you that you were fat the less you felt about yourself and the tendency to make yourself feel better you went to find some comfort food and usually it was not veggies,” wrote Lynda. “Telling anyone they are fat just makes it worse."

Many also commented that the message isn’t only limited to Georgia. The anti-obesity campaign is something that all states should take note of. “Hurtful? The rest of ‘middle’ America needs the same message, right in the ‘gut.’ Pun intended,” Ana Angel wrote.

What do you think of the ads? Are they helpful or hurtful? Tell us in the comments section below.

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ArturoRodriguez, MD

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