Childhood Obesity Prevention

Sponsor Organization: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Campaign Website: www.smallstep.gov
Volunteer Agency:BYU Ad Lab, GSD&M's Idea City and McCann Erickson, New York 
Campaign Partners:U.S. Olympic Committee, qubo, DreamWorks, NFL, LPGA

About 9 million children over the age of 6 are considered overweight in this country. The American obesity epidemic has been passed to our youngest generation.

Overweight children are at far greater risk of developing some chronic diseases, including Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In addition to putting their health at risk, overweight children are often subjected to exclusion by their peers, which can affect their emotional well-being. 

Teaching kids the importance of eating well and being physically active at a young age is crucial to reversing the trend of childhood obesity in this country.

The campaign focuses on the importance of eating healthy and being physically active through several complementary efforts. The “Be a Player” PSAs feature players from the National Football League (NFL), the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and characters from DreamWorks' Shrek. These PSAs encourage children ages 6 to 13 years old to get up and play for at least one hour every day and demonstrate the fun that they can have doing it.
 
New PSAs featuring U.S. Olympic Hopefuls paired with qubo’s animated characters reinforce the “Be a Player” message, as well as messages about “Energy Balance” and “Portion Size”.

Children and their families are encouraged to visit www.HealthierUS.gov or www.SmallStep.gov where they can find fun, interactive and beneficial information on healthy eating and physical activity.  

This is a companion campaign to the adult-targeted Obesity Prevention campaign known as Small Steps. The campaign began in November 2005.

Learn about a related Ad Council initiative, The Coalition for Healthy Children.