Momma, why am I fat?

September is Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

By now you have seen the ads, especially if you live in the Atlanta metro area. What ads? I am talking about the juststopsugarcoating.com ads. The ads have a picture of a child, ages 10- 17, with a slogan in reference to being obese. One ad that stands out shows a black girl with a reference to being bullied. We all know what bullying in schools has led to – death.

I posted the commercial in its entirety a few days back.

Why do I think this cause is so important? First Georgia has the second highest obesity rate in the nation among children, ages 10 – 17. Ok, we are not first but second is just as bad. Second , I can relate to the girl. I was the fat kid. No, I was not always the blogging diva you see before you. I was actually fat. I also had a jherri curl. *insert jokes*. I didn’t get picked a lot but it was enough. It was a different time, but it was still hard. I was overdeveloped; my clothes didn’t fit right and often received unwanted attention from older men. My mom tried her best to make me comfortable, but it didn’t help that she took me to the women’s section to shop sometimes. Or my granny would make my dresses. See there weren’t any Kids Plus or Juniors Plus sections in my day so I had very little selection. My mom would often find “boutiques” that catered to the bigger child because obese wasn’t the term back in the day. We were the fat kids. My special store was supposed to make the fat kid pretty.

Ok wait, I was also very athletic, but it did nothing to curb my appetite. When I was bored or sad, I ate. We now know it as a form of depression. Obesity can bring on hypertension, liver failure, excessive sweating, bullying, and the worst – death. Yet there are ways to fight obesity. Get up and move. Put down the chips and pick up an apple. It sounds so easy but its not about the food. It is about your life. Is your life worth being fat and happy or fit and breathing? No, it doesn’t come off overnight, but it will come off.

So just visit the website. They have plenty of tips that can help you family. You may know a child that is suffering from obesity. We need to stop the saying, “that’s just baby fat!”. You may not be able to change your size but you can  at least be healthy.

As always,

Smooches