Shameful deeds are taught by shameful deeds
I was doing my daily blog reading today and came across this #ashamed posting by MrsFatass. My first reaction was one of outrage and frustration … that was then immediately followed by sadness and shame.
No … these feelings weren’t directed at Sue, her piece was very well written and full of emotions. These feelings were directed at the Georgia Ad Campaign toward “fighting childhood obesity”. I prefer to call it the Georgia 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:
Now don’t get me wrong, the words and the message itself isn’t bad … what is bad are the photos. Rather than exploit the children they should instead be 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.
Shock and awe can only take you so far and certainly can have it’s use at times in any battle but these photos are just inappropriate.
As someone who’s been overweight my entire life and who’s parents used to give me second and third helpings at meals I can understand where some of the blame lies. As someone who’s father used to constantly call him 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.
As a previously overweight kid I also 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.
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 bet you’d want to curl up in a ball and hide in your room. Do you really think you’d have the self-esteem or confidence to ask you parents why you’re 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 their kids in the those faces?
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.
As a father that grew up overweight and understands the pains of being obese throughout my childhood I’m very conscious of what my kids eat and how active they are. I struggle every day trying to make sure I’m a good role model and yet not overbearing. I’m constantly striving to teach my kids how to make educated food choices and have fun being active and fit.
The blame and responsibility of childhood obesity lies with the adults, the parents, and the educators not the children. It’s time we all stepped up and took responsibility and act in our children’s best interest to help them be happy and healthy all throughout their lives.
If you’re moved by this or want your viewpoint to be heard then please check out this post. Also use your Twitter and your Facebook accounts to let the creators of these ads know what’s on your mind. Finally, join me, MrsFatass, and others tonight (Friday) for a Twitter chat from 9-10 PM EST using the hashtag #ashamed.
See you there!
Great post! I totally agree. I too had the same experiences growing up and it wasn’t until later in life when I educated myself that I became healthy and fit. Now, I strive to be a positive role model for my children so they don’t follow in my foot steps. The interesting thing is, my parents still don’t get it. They praise me for my weight loss and for the care I give my kids, but they continue to overfeed my kids and give them junk whenever we visit!
I also just found a campaign video of stop obesity with parents insinuated ways. a son innocently asked her mother, mother why am I fat? the campaign in Georgia. it is time to build awareness of the psychological effects, and may it be one way. whether we must destroy food factories? whether we should stop television shows and delicious food advertisements? oh no. if every girl can feel sexy like Katy Perry felt herself sexy and feminim, and if each boy is able to feel sexy like David Beckham feels sexy and masculine, I think that’s one way of awareness of good (smile)