Thought for the Day--May 4, 2011: STOP Stigmatizing Overweight Children
![Image](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHNiq8N9u7-9CrPcDFZkkC4xzx3ycpfkkwv9owHuCm8hm4qMTGZQTPog5MHVR7r0tjKJU4TcjbFYH16oD2zfDzzu0M-fG5OCqKhl7ZrST5Kxl74YRoT1KESUmAJwGNR68zd_jsTT1Fbuk/s400/WarOnObesityBacklash5.jpg)
The above image has been manipulated from an April 21, 2011, ad, from the website www.stopchildhoodobesity.com (see original ad below). ________________________________________ The original ad : According to Katu.com , "This advertisement, part of a 'Stop Child Obesity' campaign in Georgia, won some enthusiastic praise for their attention-grabbing tactics. But they also have outraged parents, activists and academics who feel the result is more stigma for an already beleaguered group of children." ________________________________ Stigma is not an effective motivator. --Rebecca Puhl, psychologist and a leading expert on weight discrimination (Yale University) "Shaming" and bullying a child into losing weight rarely works. I know this from personal experience; as a chubby child (I wasn't quite "fat," whatever that means), my well-meaning grandmother (who raised me) would often embarrass me in front of relatives, including children, in the hope tha