Will anti-obesity ads shock New Yorkers?

Obesity in America

The latest anti-obesity ads in New York are designed to shock - a glass of thick, yellow human fat, marbled with veins and blood vessels is shown, as the latest weapon in America's war on obesity.

The new shock adverts, which are accompanied by the words "Are you pouring on the pounds?", target the billions of hidden calories which Americans consume each year in sodas and other sugary drinks.

American citizens drink 15 billion gallons of sodas and sugary drinks per year.

For now, New York State, has shelved the idea of a soda tax on sugary sodas and juice drinks, in favour of the ads.

New York health officials say the images used in the new campaign are intended to be "ugly" and are designed to give people a jolt.

"We really wanted to make a statement and grab people's attention," said Cathy Nonas, director of the city health department's Physical Activity and Nutrition Programs.

The ads have cost about $277,000 to develop over three fiscal years. This includes money for creative work and focus groups. They will run in 1,500 subway cars for three months. The $90,000 cost of the subway advertisement comes through a private donor, the Fund for Public Health in New York.

New York is waging an increasingly visible battle against weight increase.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has already clamped down on trans-fats, forced cafes, restaurants and fast-food outlets to post calorie content information on menus, deployed fruit vendors to poor neighbourhoods and given corner shops incentives to sell fresh fruit and vegetables.

"We've just begun," added Ms Nonas. "Obesity is a big problem and we are going to do everything in our power to combat it."

On average, Americans now consume 200 to 300 more calories each day than they did 30 years ago.

A mix of growing portion sizes, and drinking more sugared drinks have contributed to the growing waist sizes. Sugar-sweetened drinks can contain up to 17 teaspoons of sugar per 550ml bottle.

A statement on City Room, from Kevin Keane, a spokesman for the American Beverage Association, said "The ad campaign is over the top and unfortunately is going to undermine meaningful efforts to educate people about how to maintain a healthy weight by balancing calories consumed from all foods and beverages with calories burned through exercise."

Public health advocates say the country is facing an obesity epidemic, which is costing the United States $147 billion annually in healthcare. According to the latest government statistics, 32.2 percent of American adults and 17.1 percent of children are clinically obese.

Obesity can lead to early heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, cancers, stroke and arthritis.

The advert is the latest in a series of hard-hitting campaigns used by the New York Health Department. They include anti-smoking adverts featuring a woman who has had several fingers amputated due to a disease caused by smoking and an X-ray of cancer-stricken lungs.

Anti-obesity ad shocks New Yorkers

New Salvo in City’s War on Sugary Drinks

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