by Deb Lemire, President of the Association for Size Diversity and Health
The Children’s Health Alliance of Atlanta has launched a campaign using short 30 second videos with chubby children talking into the camera sharing their shame and fear of being a fat person.
Yes Tina, it is hard to be among the one million fat kids in Georgia. And we agree with Jaden that it’s no fun getting picked on because you’re fat. But the Strong4Life folks in Georgia decided that instead of building a community that supports healthy behaviors in children of all sizes they have chosen to build a community of stigma.
Instead of working within their communities to provide access to fresh foods and safe places to play, they choose to encourage a culture of bullying.
Instead of using funds to challenge kids’ imaginations and encourage them to explore and create, they chose to fund fear.
Instead of standing on the side of compassion, they chose to stand on the side of cruelty.
Health comes in all shapes and sizes. Being physically active and eating nutritious foods will generate health. Convincing children that they are sick or failures because of their body size will not.