Devoted readers of this blog may remember an anti-obesity campaign aimed at Georgia's plumpest children. Well, talk about Mamavation. Fitness blogger, Leah Segedie challenged the shaming tactics of the Strong 4 Life campaign, which included billboards, ads and social media.
Even though the goal of the campaign was a wake up call to parents of obese kids, it sent out messages that these kids should be ashamed of their size, and played into "the stigma that they live with" already.
Thanks in part to Segedie's own counter-campaign, “Ashamed”, other bloggers, parents and activists joined her and ultimately convinced Strong 4 Life to take a different tact.
"I was that child years ago," Segedie wrote. "Every time someone drew attention to my weight, I spent my time eating more. Why? Because food was how I made myself feel better. If you were going to make me feel bad about myself, I was going to run to food again. Does that make sense? No. But since when does having an eating disorder make any sense?"
Following Twitter protests, the infamous billboards have now come down. Better still, in the new Strong branding, kids appear motivated rather than ashamed.
One (not so) small step for momkind!
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