Since its launch six months ago, officials say Strong4Life, the provocative ad campaign designed to raise awareness about childhood obesity, is reaping the results they’d hoped.
“They’re getting people’s attention,” Linda Matzigkeit, senior vice president at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, said of the stark ads that feature obese children.
Children’s brought its campaign, which includes television, billboard and online ads, to Atlanta recently and is hoping they continue building awareness of childhood obesity.
But whether children are losing weight as a result of the ads is a whole other question. Indeed, Matzigkeit and some parents say, it’s the wrong question.
Are they causing people to think about making better health choices?
Absolutely, she said.
“The primary driver is establishing healthy habits for life,” said Matzigkeit. “If they’re making the right choices and exercising, the weight loss will come.”
Children's decided to launch the campaign in Macon and Columbus after conducting focus groups with kids and parents of overweight and obese kids who were in denial about the issue. Parents sometimes explained the extra weight away, referring to their kids as chunky, thick or big boned. The research also showed parents weren't aware of the health risks associated with obesity.
"We see the results in our hospital every single day," she said. "Children who are overweight now suffering from diseases once seen only in adults, such as heart disease, hypertension, liver and kidney disease and type 2 diabetes."
As the largest pediatric health-care provider in the country, Matzigkeit said hospital officials decided it was up to them to educate. Although unable to provide a specific dollar amount, a hospital spokeswoman said Children's has made a "significant financial investment" in the Strong4Life campaign.
The ads, aimed at getting the attention of parents and children's caregivers, have gotten mixed reviews, mainly because they speak bluntly about the consequences of being overweight.
According to research conducted by Children's, about 68 percent of people who saw the ads viewed them favorably compared to about 15 percent who thought they were too abrupt.
For instance, in one of the ads, an overweight boy asks his obese mother: “Mom why am I fat?” And in another, a girl with somber face is shown tugging at her tight T-shirt. A voice explains she has Type 2 diabetes. "I never thought what we eat made her sick. I just always thought she was thick like her mama.”
"We know this campaign is hard-hitting," said Matzigkeit. "But this crisis is real. And we feel strongly that this is the right approach and the right thing to do for Georgia's kids.
Six weeks after launching the campaign in Macon and Columbus, Matzigkeit said market research showed 58 percent of those surveyed were aware of the ads and issue.
The awareness campaign is only the first step. Officials said they plan to follow the campaign with solutions, simple steps parents can take to help their kids make healthier choices, including eating more fruits and vegetables and becoming more active.
“With nearly 40 percent of the children in Georgia overweight or obese, we needed to do a wakeup call,” said Matzigkeit. “This is a medical crisis and if we don’t address it, it’s going to have a huge impact on our state because these children will become obese adults."
One Atlanta mother and her daughter -- who acted in one of the ads -- have made the lifestyle changes that Children's hopes to see in others. Stormy Bradley and 14-year-old Maya Walters are more conscious now about not only what they eat but how much and how fast. They're more inclined to make sure they're exercising.
"Whether you are an adult or a child, most of us are uncomfortable talking about obesity," Bradley said. Maya appearing in the ad "... has given her a voice and I think she realizes she is not alone in this."
Maya said she is excited to see the ads coming to Atlanta because it gives the issue a larger platform.
"I think it's really brave to talk about the elephant in the room," she said. "It's very provocative and makes people uncomfortable, but it's when people are uncomfortable that change comes."
Maya, who has high blood pressure in her family, said she isn't using as much salt in her food and she doesn't get as winded now when she climbs stairs.
"Being a voice and point of inspiration for others people is important to us,"‘ said Bradley. "Being able to do this with my daughter makes it more special."
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