We all poke fun at supersize Americans, but a new series of adverts run by New York City’s Health Department doesn’t see the obesity problem as a laughing matter.
The series of adverts is based on the idea of cutting the size of American food portions. One of the new, shocking adverts shows a man who lost his leg to Type 2 diabetes, with a warning against the super-sizing of food portion across the pond.
The advert shows three cups of soft drinks on a scale from ‘then’ to ‘now’, with a bucket-sized cup on the ‘now’ side. These all sit uncomfortably in front of a seated obese man whose right leg has been amputated due to health problems related to his weight. The tag line reads: ‘Cut your portion. Cut your risk.’
Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley said of the eye-catching campaign: “The portion sizes that are marketed are often much more than humans need.
“We are warning people about the risks of super-size portions so they can make more informed choices about what they eat. Consuming too many calories can lead to weight gain, which greatly increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. If New Yorkers cut their portions, they can cut their risk of these health problems.”
The other ad in the series pictures an overweight woman trying to climb up stairs while out of breath. This time, the scale shows French fries in place of the soft drinks, again with the same tag line.
Critics have been quick to brand the adverts ‘ineffectual’ and ‘misleading’, but they will certainly grab Americans by the scruff of the neck. Whether it persuades them to cut back is another question.
