Is Georgia's Anti-Obesity Campaign a Form of Bullying?

Poor little, fragile fatso kids, their indignant nutritional child abusing parents and enablers like Lynn Grefe of NEDA.

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 truth sometimes hurts.

Deal with it.