Georgia Obesity Ads

[Jared]

Too far?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/georgias-shocking-anti-obesity-ad-campaign/2012/01/03/gIQAZB8HYP_blog.html

Stop Childhood Obesity: Jaden

Stop Childhood Obesity: Bobby

[4kless]

Not at all (too far). I think the second one gets more at the root of the problem.

[Greg]

Powerful ads. Bravo to the south for telling it like it is. My only hesitation with the ads would be for the emotional and intellectual well being of the child "actors" seeing themselves portrayed in the way they are and possible fallout of being scorned by their peers.

America's fat & lazy. Physically, intellectually and productively.

[pkpk]

I think the recent Blue Cross commercials with the people singing at the Buffet are also great.  It just breaks my heart to see how some people raise their kids to be that obese.  They are dooming them to a life of diabetes, heart issues and ostracization (sorry if that isn't really a word.) 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota "Tomorrow" Commercial

 

[Aprilian]

I'd like to see an add with someone obese saying to an average weight person,  "I'm just big boned" and then they show xrays of both individuals.     

I hate the beliefs of Americans that these weights are normal.  It's only been the last couple generations in the US and this isn't common in other countries.  I believe it is because we are an affluent country that we can make these bad health decisions.

[pkpk]

I don't know if I would say it's because we are "affluent".  I see plenty of obese people driving cars and eating at McDonalds who are not "affluent". 

I think we are conditioned to overeating crappy foods.  Having spent some time in Thailand opened my eyes to how our culture likes to eat crappy fatty foods.  They don't eat any less over there.  They eat all lean foods, including meat.  They are all slender and so you don't have this culture of excuses and self-deprecating jokes about being fat. 

My wife works in the health insurance industry and they are working on programs to make people see what their cost is to our system.  Also, we have screening at work so if our BP and Cholesterol is below a certain point, we get a price break. 

[Greg]

By "affluent" I assume Ian means America is affluent compared to other nations, which we are. I also think food is a lower percentage of an American's overall budget then it is in other countries.
 (And I'm talking comparing urban dwellers in  western industrialized nations)

I respectfully offer that you're getting dangerously close to blaming the food Paul, when in my opinion no one is putting a gun to peoples heads to super-size everything at McDonald's.

[pkpk]

Greg, I see the point you are making.  My point is that a food intake at Thailand is really no less per person by bulk.  Their culture eats lean, locally grown food sold in neighborhood markets while we tend to eat highly processed foods with saturated fats.  You are correct, we could eat LESS of it but humans like to eat.  Many choose to eat fresh, lean foods here but it isn't exactly natural to our culture.   I suppose that gets to Ian's point about affluent but I tend to think it has more to do with cultural conditioning.  Meat, potatoes and McDonalds are a staple here for generations.

[Jared]

I don't know if I would say it's because we are "affluent".  I see plenty of obese people driving cars and eating at McDonalds who are not "affluent". 

I think we are conditioned to overeating crappy foods.  Having spent some time in Thailand opened my eyes to how our culture likes to eat crappy fatty foods.  They don't eat any less over there.  They eat all lean foods, including meat.  They are all slender and so you don't have this culture of excuses and self-deprecating jokes about being fat. 

My wife works in the health insurance industry and they are working on programs to make people see what their cost is to our system.  Also, we have screening at work so if our BP and Cholesterol is below a certain point, we get a price break. 

We are affluent by world standards which just means that we have much more accessibility to these kinds of foods.  Add to that our agricultural policy which subsidizes the production of corn-based foods (corn oil, corn syrup, corn feed for livestock etc).  Your last point about your job is awesome.  Making people financially accountable for their healthcare decisions on some level is part of the solution.

[Aprilian]

I would agree that the affluence is us vs the world.  But don't miss the point that eating out (even at Mac n Don's) takes more money than preparing simple food at home.

[gdawgs]

Please don't take away my french fries.  or my shakes....or my burgers. 

Actually it is just sad what I consume in a week.  Yes I know that it is unhealthy, also know that it has caused my weight gain. 

Maybe I can take a pill to absorb the fat intake, and flush it out? 

After taking two bottle of the stuff over time, I seem to feel better, but still have gained weight. 

I think this is the weight my body feels most comfortable with.....carry on. 

[Aprilian]

Years ago, I realized that all the old pople I met were skinny and I came to the (unscientific) conclusion that only the good obese die young.

[4kless]

Before we go too far down the road on fast food bashing I'd like to point out a couple of upsides to eating at McD or wherever that may not have been considered:

1) Fairly accurate nutrional information. Any successful dieter will tell you that tracking what you are consuming is job one.
2) Portion Control. 

Seriously, you can eat <reasonably> healthy at McD. The grilled chicken is pretty good from a caloric & fat standpoint and the fish sandwich is OK if you custom it without the big dollop of tartar sauce. All the major fast food chains have now gone to trans-fat free cooking oils so fries are less of a no-no than they were in the past. 

[Ray916MN]

The second one is good.

The first one seems to imply that bullying fat people is okay. If you're fat, you deserve it. Really?

What other physical attributes are deserving of bullying?

[pkpk]

What other physical attributes are deserving of bullying?

Randy Newman - Short People