Cincinnati obesity campaign draws ire of fat acceptance advocates

The Cincinnati-based Center for Closing the Health Gap has no plans to alter billboards and other advertising material for its new childhood obesity awareness campaign, despite criticism of its use of images of overweight children (Source: “'Fat kids' war flares,” Cincinnati Enquirer, Aug. 11, 2008).

The campaign includes billboards and other material with pictures of overweight children eating junk food and the tagline, “Are we feeding our children to death?”

The National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance, based in California, is asking that the billboards be taken down because they say the ads will subject overweight children to ridicule.  The organization advocates for what it calls “Health at Every Size,” a concept that involves emphasizing healthy eating and exercise rather than weight loss.

“The fact that they would reduce this to an issue of appearance is really unfortunate, and it really misses what’s at issue here,” said Dwight Tillery, president and CEO of the Center for Closing the Health Gap. “This has nothing to do with the outside. It has everything to do with what’s happening internally to our children, to their health.”