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Obesity ads too soft on fat, critics say
By Mike Stobbe
Associated Press
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ATLANTA, Ga. -- Drunks swimming in gin, smokers in body bags and dopers living with their parents deep into adulthood. Those are among the public service ads shown in the past. But the government's new batch of obesity spots declines even to show a fat person, let alone wag a finger for gluttony or sloth.

No one is advocating public service announcements that ridicule fat people; experts say such spots would do more harm than good. But critics complain that the three new spots premiering this month are a wimpy attack on the costly and deadly explosion of obesity in America.

"It's so namby-pamby I think people will shrug it off," said Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a Washington-based advocacy organization.

The three new spots are the latest in a series created by the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which try to tackle the nation's obesity problem with ads that encourage healthy snacking and taking the stairs.

Creators of the "Small Steps" campaign, funded by the government at more than $1.5 million a year, cite survey data for 467 adults which showed those who saw the ads did more walking and adopted some other healthy habits than those who didn't see the ads.

But critics say such a survey is hardly proof of success, and the nation's fat problem is clearly getting worse - more than one in three U.S. children are overweight or obese, and two in three adults are.

"I think 'Small Steps' is a euphemism for small vision," said Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Center for Eating and Weight Disorders.

The "Small Steps" campaign began in 2004. It was created for free by McCann Erickson New York, the ad agency that created the MasterCard "Priceless" campaign. Six TV spots have aired so far, all professionally produced and humorous, highlighting tips to healthier living.

This month, three more spots joined the rotation, along with a multimedia campaign focusing on exercise. The new anti-obesity TV spots show trim or slightly pudgy people noticing blobs of fat on a hotel room floor or in a theater. They comment that someone must have lost it by eating healthy snacks.

The spots' creators say they learned in focus groups that many people are intimidated - hopeless, even - about the sustained changes needed to slim down.

"So many people, when they think about losing weight, see it as a Sisyphean task - 'I have to lose weight but I can't fit it into my busy schedule,'" said Peggy Conlon, president of the Ad Council.

The ads offer easily achievable tips that empower people to make positive changes, she added.

The ads targeting smoking aren't as tame. A recent one by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows smokers' decayed and tumored bodies.

Young viewers pay more attention to ads that evoke feelings of personal loss, sadness, anger, disgust or fear, according to an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Kids also tend to remember such ads longer.

That drama is lacking in the obesity spots - for example, none have offered a surgeon's view of fat, or dramatized a death from Type 2 diabetes, or shown a person complaining about how a fat neighbor's medical bills are costing taxpayers.

In the past, the vegan advocacy group, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has taken a somewhat confrontational approach.

In 2005, the group put out a spot in which doctors yank a pizza and jumbo-sized soda away from an intently eating fat boy and toss him an apple. They put out another in which the same doctors haul away fatty foods from a restaurant called Chubby's.

The group has no data on whether the ads are working, but the government ads "don't address the obesity problem in a vivid enough way to get people's attention," said Patrick Sullivan, the group's communications director.

That raises a second complaint with the government's campaign: It sidesteps what some feel are the real causes of the obesity epidemic, the abundance of cheap and large portions of sugary and high-calorie foods.

"The U.S. government doesn't have the guts to go after junk food producers," Jacobson said.

Tied in with the "Small Steps" campaign, the Ad Council and federal health department are part of the "Coalition for Healthy Children," whose members include Coca Cola, PepsiCo, the Hershey Co. and the National Confectioners Association. Critics say the partnership suggests a conflict of interest that might dissuade efforts to discourage soft drinks or candy bars.

Food and soda companies did not alter what was said in spots, said Ellyn Fisher, an Ad Council spokeswoman. The content was shaped by advertising research, which concluded the spots were humorous and motivating, she said.

On the Net:

Small Steps campaign: http://www.smallstep.gov

Center for Science in the Public Interest: http://www.cspinet.org/

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:

http://www.pcrm.org/news/psas/tv.html

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Reader comments on this story - 38 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

I was curious, so... wrote on Oct 23, 2007 6:55 PM:

" I have many large folks in my family and of course I know the likelihood for poor health and sometimes short lives so I did a search and I was a bit surprised at what I found. Of course there are many examples of super-sized celebs who died early, but lookee here: Marlon Brando/80/360lbs., Raymond Burr/76/290 lbs., Winston Churchill/91/240-305lbs., President William Howard Taft/73/380lbs., Jackie Gleason/71/300-360lbs., Ulysess S. Grant/63/260lbs., Oliver Hardy/65/300lbs., Hattie McDaniels/57/265lbs., Kate Smith/79/280lbs., Luciano Pavarotti/72/300-430lbs., Orson Welles/70/280-340lbs., Shelly Winters/86/210-260lbs., Alfred Hitchcock/81/260-300lbs., Diego Rivera/71/290-330lbs., Benjamin Franklin/84/240-290lbs., Mahalia Jackson/61/220lbs. "

to clueless and I am Fat wrote on Oct 23, 2007 4:36 PM:

" Many of us that stay in shape would be able to run circles around you.... literally! Many people who are truly health conscious will run 4 to 5 miles per day. A large number of these people work at least 8 hour days. The reason they are putting these adds on television is simple. When was the last time you knew someone over the age of 85 that was fat. Honestly people give smokers a hard time, but at least that is just a chance that it will kill you. Being grossly obese is a 100% guarantee that you will die before you were supposed to. So if you are truly so active at work that we wouldn't keep up with you please start eating better, and fewer calories..... you WILL live longer. "

Old Fat Burns wrote on Oct 23, 2007 1:44 PM:

" I make sure I eat generous helpings daily from the 3 basic food groups-SALTY, GREASY, and BEER! "

clueless wrote on Oct 23, 2007 1:26 PM:

" most people are just that when they talk of over weight people they think that all are lazy and worthless well its not always true the same goes for skinny people .i weigh 300 and would challange anyone to work along side me every day. "

Hey Jon... wrote on Oct 23, 2007 1:20 PM:

" Beauty is in the eye of the beholder- bud. It's hard to believe, but there's someone somewhere who even thinks you're hot! "

Jon wrote on Oct 23, 2007 12:13 PM:

" If un-attractiveness, early death and a pile of medical bills cannot dissuade someone from gorging on crappy food, I doubt a vanilla public service announcement will do the trick. Here is my vision for a real-life ad. Black screen: white title card: "Would you sleep with a fat guy?" Cut to personal on-street interviews with young women: 1st woman: "No." 2nd woman: "Uh, No." 3rd woman: "What? No!" 4th woman: "Maybe, if I was drunk...wait...No. Just No." You get the idea. "

Hey, "To Sad Day wrote on Oct 23, 2007 12:27 AM:" wrote on Oct 23, 2007 12:10 PM:

" Buddy, my huge biceps and narrow waist are NOT your's to look at and admire! Neither are my wife's hour-glass figure, her firm booty or her gorgeous long legs! The reason I bring this up is your remark: "put these obese pigs outside where I do not have to be sickened looking at their rolls of cellulite. " is offensive to everyone who read your post and got the feeling that you think we're all here for YOUR appreciation. Ain't nothing about my body or my life that is for YOUR approval, dude. Do yourself a service and stop speaking. With every word you appear smaller and smaller. "

To I'm 73 wrote on Oct 23, 2007 11:38 AM:

" Gluttony, I belive it was one of the seven deadly sins actually. Just answering the question! "

To I'm 73 wrote on Oct 23, 2007 11:36 AM:

" Gluttony, I belive it was one of the seven deadly sins actually. Just answering the question! "

Obesity stats are a bit skewed wrote on Oct 23, 2007 11:35 AM:

" All of the obesity statistics you see are based upon a person's BMI. BMI is a garbage indicator of health and fitness. I'm 26, 5'9" and 220 lbs. I'm obese according to the BMI calculator, until you factor in that I have 5.9% body fat a 32 inch waist and can bench press some of the obese people we are referring to. How about you all work to drop a pant size, a shirt size. Then when you do celebrate and try to drop another. Don't worry about weight or BMI. Get active, eat less calories than you expend and monitor how your clothes fit. BMI is garbage. But what do I know, I'm obese! "

Sad Day Responder wrote on Oct 23, 2007 10:37 AM:

" Just telling the fat people what the smokers went and are going through. Good luck fatties. Don't expect any sympathy from me. You will be the next discriminated against group. "

I'm 73 wrote on Oct 23, 2007 9:28 AM:

" and I've seen fat people my whole life- have known and loved many. When did being fat become a sin? "

Has anyone else noticed that wrote on Oct 23, 2007 9:27 AM:

" as our culture took this turn of becoming more negatively vocal about fat folks, that the number of fat folks increased? Back in the day when people minded their own business sure there were fat people- afterall God put a lot of them on this planet that way- but the increase in numbers seems to be rising in spite of increased information and your "well intentioned" advise. Leave people alone! What in the hell is wrong with all of you? My fat mama, bless her soul- would roll over in her grave and slap the be-jezzus outta you all if she heard some of the crap you were throwin' around at folks. There's someone somewhere putting up with and accepting YOU- faults and ALL. YOU should afford others that same courtesy. Be polite- or get the hell off this bus! "

RE: "ok now ... wrote on Oct 23, 2007 6:39 AM:" wrote on Oct 23, 2007 9:20 AM:

" I didn't write that my BIG grandmother lived to be 105, I wrote that she lived to be 71- which is 22 years more than the national average for women born in the year she was born. Grandma was a 300++ lb. woman and trust me- she was a busy whirlwind! She was THE gal to go to when you needed something done. And I never knew her to be sick a single day in her life. Goin to the mall for a stroll to drop a few pounds is something she would have completely goffed at. Her idea was that God made us all and some he made skinny while others he made fat. Of course her very ideas would be challenged severely today by the people who like to think they have the authority to make decisions for others regarding smoking, drinking, body-type, religion, etc., etc., etc. In her day folks tended to the busniess confined inside the four walls of their own houses and left others to do the same. In today's world she would likely be severely juddged and ostracized... though she would likely hardly notice- she was a far too busy woman. "

Fat kid... skinny adult... wrote on Oct 23, 2007 9:20 AM:

" I was a fat kid... I still don't know how that happened since my mother always served healthy food (we NEVER had candy or soda in our house), but it did. It's taken me 9 years to lose 70 pounds... and I feel awesome. In a world controlled by "how fast can I get this or that", people aren't patient enough to lose weight (the natural way). Here are a couple ideas... take the STAIRS not the elevator or escalator, walk to the shop across the parking lot at College Hills Mall, when you go shopping, park as far away from the store as possible. As for food ideas; need a sugar rush? Eat some fruit! Craving carbs? Eat some high fiber bread! Don't keep food within easy reach, allow yourself only to eat in the kitchen or at the dining room table, and dont' eat out of the bag (put some on a plate, and put the rest away)... Don't have enough time in the day? Cancel your cable subscription (you'd be amazed at the sudden increase in time)... Just some ideas that have worked for me... "

Dear: "ok now ... wrote on Oct 23, 2007 6:39 AM:" wrote on Oct 23, 2007 9:13 AM:

" What you and some others don't seem to GET is that exercise and trimming down aren't necessarily priorities or even desires for some. Can you not accept that some may not share the same views as you? My partner is extra-large and I love her that way. If she dropped 75 lbs. she would be as different in my eyes as if you're partner put-on an extra 75! That's not to say that if she lost weight or decided to make changes that I would not support her- but the point is, I met her as a fat woman- I was drawn to her as a fat woman and I love her and lust after her still today, as a fat woman. She is what I seek. She is one of the happiest people I know and we are a solid happy couple. And although I have no problem sharing our story- when and why in our recent cultural history did it become necessary for me to feel the need to explain such deeply personal matters between my wife and I? "

RE: "soapbox wrote on Oct 23, 2007 7:41 AM:" wrote on Oct 23, 2007 9:08 AM:

" I personally prefer the word "fat". I find the word "OBESE" offensive and demoralizing- although I know it is a medical term and my problem with it is just a perception thing. "Obese" sounds too much like "beast" which is too close to "animal" which is too close to "non-human". So every time I hear the word "obese" I sense fat folks are being demoralized, ridiculed and basically called an animal. "

Amused wrote on Oct 23, 2007 8:55 AM:

" Every health and household magazine has an article on the latest and the most sure-fire way to lose weight. It is always a diet or change of lifestyle and is the last one you will ever need! It would be amusing if it wasn't so serious that so many people say their diet never worked. There are plenty of reasons to stay slim, but anyone who watches TV sees the array of foods that make them hungry. Our jobs and our interests keeps us sedentary in front of the Computer. Of course, when you really starve yourself, then your body goes into saving mode to preserve that fat and then you gain more than you lost. Our lifestyles have changed and we don't keep up the activity we once did. "

Fat Chick wrote on Oct 23, 2007 8:34 AM:

" Why do people need the media to tell them that they are fat? I would think that if anyone is unhappy with their own body, they would make the time to change it no matter what. I myself, am not unhappy with my curvey figure but rather choose to work out to keep my heart healthy. Or I guess I should say healthier because I do carry extra weight. I know the risks involved with that but I am not going to give up my curves because someone tells me that I should. "

to: I take the good with the bad in my life... wrote on Oct 23, 2007 8:33 AM:

" I think that its great that your happy with being fat, and I encourage you to continue to do so if it truly makes you happy. The issue I have with fat people is: Its not a disability! You should not receive special parking, special medical benefits, or any type of special treatment. As you said, it is your choice for being fat. Why should I have to put out extra for you? I understand that some people have a true medical problems, but not 2/3 of the adult population does. You can be fat... just do it over there where I cant see you of have to pay for your "choice". Thanks. "

soapbox wrote on Oct 23, 2007 7:41 AM:

" get the junk food out of schools ..... shame on schools for feeding preschoolers chocolate milk, cookies and cheese in a can. It IS happening here in Mclean County!! "

Call it what it is...FAT wrote on Oct 23, 2007 7:20 AM:

" When did people stopped identifying someone as FAT and begin to say "overweight or obese" instead? Is "Fat" too harsh of a word anymore? Choosing softer words is not helping matters. Maybe some fat folks need to get their feelings hurt in order to effect change. "

The responder to sad day wrote on Oct 23, 2007 6:43 AM:

" I'm sorry that you're so intolerant of others. I suppose if you looked at me you'd say I was fat....I'm not, I'm just not going to look like those who show every bone in the body. I am 129 lbs and happy for it and yes, I was fat I worked hard to lose that weight and I'm proud of me. You, however are someone I would never want to know. Your shallowness and intolerance for others is very very sad. I'll bet you even push small children, elderly people and those physically or mentally challenged out of your way. I do feel very sorry for you. "

ok now ... wrote on Oct 23, 2007 6:39 AM:

" To the writer with the large grandmother, I had grandparents that lived to 105 also. They did eat what we would say is bad; however, they were ACTIVE DAILY until the year before they passed as I am sure your grandmother was active daily. Bless her. To the people who say there isn't enough time, they can't afford a gym etc... Look.. there is 24 hours in the day for everyone on this planet, no one gets extra time. We all work too .. I am writing this at 6:15 AM ( I got up an hour earlier) so I can go the mall and walk before I go to work. It's FREE, it's SOCIAL. I can go AFTER work because they are open a lot of hours. I need to lose some weight and I don't intend to end up like my parents paying the pharmacist every month. I won't be a model, but I can be healthy and lose some fat. It may not all come off. Stop with excuses; I heading out for my walk now. ( My grandparents, 105, didn't have time to be in front of the computer either. That's how they found the time! "

To Sad Day wrote on Oct 23, 2007 12:27 AM:

" That day has already come and gone in this city controlled by the health industry and their lackeys. It is well past time the fatties got their grief from our industrious leaders. I say a total ban on serving unhealthy food to the obese pigs... and if and when they should be allowed to eat, put them outside where I do not have to be sickened looking at their rolls of cellulite. "

Sad Day wrote on Oct 22, 2007 10:21 PM:

" Here is the precursor to banning of foods, mandating exercise, and penalizing those who do not maintain a weight deemed correct by society. "

Tribute to my big Grandma... wrote on Oct 22, 2007 10:11 PM:

" Grandma was a HUGE woman. She was born in 1902 when the life expectancy of a female was 49 years. She survived polio and the births of 8 childlren. She cooked with lard, baked w/ butter and always served bread, gravy and and sugar at every delicious meal. She lived to age 71 and was big from childhood until the day she passed away. She worked hard and raised 2 generations of children (my parents died in an acciident and the grand-folks took us in) and she was respected, loved in fact revered by her husband, her family and the entire community. Something tells me if she were alive in today's world she might not be getting the full respect she deserved- as she did then. "

I'm fat wrote on Oct 22, 2007 9:02 PM:

" AND gay. I suppose I don't stand a chance in B/N, huh? Oh- and I smoke too. Lordy, I may as well pack my bags! "

I am FAT wrote on Oct 22, 2007 9:01 PM:

" I work 80-100 hours a week and I am FAT. Almost 400 lbs. I have always been fat. I have always worked 80+ hours a week. Call me lazy and I'll knock you into next w eek. I dare you to work alongside of me and just TRY to keep up. You'll be left in my swirling dust. You'll have to think of something other then "LAZY" to call me, 'cause it don't apply. "

I take the good with the bad in my life... wrote on Oct 22, 2007 8:57 PM:

" I'm an extra-large guy who's been extra-large all of his 44 years. There is no one or nothing to blame except ME. I could re-prioritize my life- or parts of it- to make time for exercise, but I do not. I could eat healthier, but I do not. I know the consequences. I accept full responsibility- just like I do in all other parts of my life- like my education, my rewarding well-paying career, my two homes, my fantastic partner and our adventurous lifestyle of world travel. I also enjoy the little things like gardening, my partner's "career" of showing dogs, our weekend cabin on the lake, writing poetry and short stories and painting... I give no one else credit for these things- it was my own hard work that got me where I am today. Just like my fatness- no one to credit (blame) but myself. And in my life I live with that. The bad with the good. I accept that. Now if others only would, I'd be just fine... "

B-town Dem wrote on Oct 22, 2007 8:35 PM:

" Just back away from the Jelly donut. PUT THE DONUT DOWN!! "

When wrote on Oct 22, 2007 6:47 PM:

" Healthy food is affordable and practical, and tastes good besides, it will make a whole lot more sense.... "

An American Grandfather wrote on Oct 22, 2007 6:31 PM:

" Drive the gluttonous and slothful unto the city gate and expel them from the company of believers! Admonish and scorn them off the streets, and smite them if they waddle! Our City of Blessed Perfection must be purged and cleansed! Wouldst thou suffer fatties to remain whence smokers, wine-bibbers, public urinators, and painted women have been exiled. Latest abominations of abomination, begone! "

agreed wrote on Oct 22, 2007 5:32 PM:

" It's a hard choice to move from junk-food to healthy food. 1. It's been a part of our lives for so long. 2. Junk-food is easier to make/heat up/pick up than healthy foods. 3. It's often cheaper to settle for junk-food. Cut out non-diet soda, foods w/fillers, high-carb foods (including carrots, corn, and tomatoes). "

Deenie wrote on Oct 22, 2007 5:10 PM:

" Parents need to be parents. Stop letting kids sit in front of the computers and tv's while they eat their super size fast food meals and sip their x-large fountain sodas. Make kids exercise instead of just dogging it during PE. "

Im obese wrote on Oct 22, 2007 4:38 PM:

" It is tough, i do not weigh 500lbs but according to the definition I am indeed obese. I have tried multiple diets and they never work, I have no time to work out except on weekends, which I try to do, but it is tough! "

JD wrote on Oct 22, 2007 4:23 PM:

" Isn't it an individuals freedom to choose what they wish to eat? If a person eats junk food and becomes obese, is it not that person's choice, and something they will have to accept responsibility for? Americans needs to quit worrying so much about everyone else, and worry more about themselves, their family, and their loved ones. People need to quit trying to dump responsibility for individuals choices onto everything but the individual. People need to quit looking to agencies to 'fix' things, and take it on as an individual. "

stop serving junk too wrote on Oct 22, 2007 3:23 PM:

" When you have people over, offer healthy food, not just what is easy such as soda and chips. If people are offered nothing but healthy food, they will eat it and learn to like it. I think it is a disgrace that our public pools serve only hotdogs and nachos and even child care centers serve such junk. "
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