Chicago, IL - Childhood obesity has been growing precipitously now for well over a decade. For that reason government entities at the federal, state, county, and local levels together with various charitable foundations (i.e. the Robert Woods Johnson) have spent (at least) many millions of dollars trying to find a solution to this modern epidemic.
But despite all the concerns, the attention, the time, effort, research, and the money that’s been spent on this issue, nobody has been able to articulate a clear, cost effective vision, a solidly coherent message that resonates enough with kids to turn the tide on childhood obesity. Because of this vision void, the Institute of Medicine’s most recent report said, “Interventions are fragmented and small scale,” as the problem continues to grow unabated, like a forest fire raging out of control.
Academia Has Studied it From Top to Bottom, But…
In the words of Rick Osbourne, ex coach, author, and Executive Director of Operation Pull Your Own Weight, “Academia has crawled all over this issue. They’ve looked into every nook and cranny, and studied it from an infinite number of perspectives. Yet to date about the only thing everyone agrees on is the age old adage…exercise more and eat less/better. The dilemma is, this message delivered on its own, has failed miserably.”
“Now admittedly, exercising more and eating less is precisely what needs to happen. However that doesn’t change the fact that this basic message needs to be packaged, presented, and delivered in a way that attracts its target audience, captures their imagination, and motivates them to want to exercise more and eat less,” Osbourne said.
The Real Question Becomes…
So the real question becomes, how do we package, present, and deliver the “exercise more and eat less,” message in a way that kids buy in and think is cool or awesome, instead of uncool and stupid? In order to get through to them, what concepts need to be imbedded in our minds when we talk with kids? Which words work, and which words undermine our efforts? Once we’ve answered these questions, what’s the final message going to be? Around what message will the fragmented childhood obesity troops rally? Without it, fragmentation rules.
Say Good Night Gracie
According to Osbourne, “Essentially then, childhood obesity is a project meant for the marketing department, not the exercise physiology or the nutrition department. Everyone knows what needs to be done, but we still don’t know how to get kids to buy in. That being the case, I have one question. If we spend zillions of dollars studying the wrong questions, is it possible to eventually come up with the right answers? Say good night Gracie. Good night Gracie.”
