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Is Fat Shaming OK if You Target Parents?

The folks who brought you billboards saying “Fat Kids Become Fat Adults” are back in the news because of a fat shaming video that’s getting lots of play on YouTube this week. This video seems to direct more of the shame toward the parents.

It traces the roots of an young adult’s obesity back to his mother feeding him french fries to shut him up. Case closed. Bad mom.

James Zervios of the Obesity Action Coalition told Yahoo Health:

It left me feeling a little frustrated. It has a heavy focus on food. But it’s not a one-dimensional problem, and we realistically have to accept that obesity is about more than food.

ConscienHealth founder Ted Kyle said:

If you want to draw attention to yourself and your campaign, then this is a helpful video. If what you want is to have a helpful effect on childhood obesity, the research is clear that shocking and stigmatizing doesn’t really help.

Negative messaging like this appeals mainly to people who think it’s about someone else. It misses the mark because it’s all about what not to do. The folks at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta have passed up their chance to play a positive role in favor of generating shock and buzz.

Now that’s a shame.

Click here to read more from Yahoo News.

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