I'm linking up this post to Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads!
There is a news article that's gotten a lot of attention in the past couple of days. I was going to ignore it. I was going to let the other bloggers talk about it, but my healthy lifestyle roots just couldn't let it go. Yoplait, the yogurt company, pulled a commercial off the air because it may cause someone to develop an eating disorder. WHAT???
Here is the commercial:
According to the article, some people believe that this commercial would reinforce the idea that treats should be denied in order to become thinner. Well, friends, the truth is that unless you are willing to purposely work out, there does come a point that you are going to have to deny yourself dessert! That is just a fact of life. Would I like to have a sweet treat after every meal? you bet! Would that be a wise decision knowing that I can't exercise the way I used to? Heck no!
Eating disorders are not developed by watching commercials. They are developed in our minds when we decide we are not good enough for whatever reason. Eating disorders are a result of a constant assault to our minds that food is poison. This commercial in no way indicates that the woman NEVER eats dessert. It DOES show her making a conscious decision to make better choices- with some humor thrown in. That's the way I see it, anyway.
What do you think? Should the commercial have been taken off the air? Does Yoplait have an obligation to the public to let them know that eating dessert is okay?
19 comments:
I have to say... I don't buy this brand cause they use aspartame in their yogurts. I will skip the brain tumors and strokes, thank you.
I agree 100% on that Mira. That's a whole different blog post! LOL
I see both sides.
I see how the National Eating Disorders Association is claiming it is coming off. I must admitt though, I didn't notice it until reading the article myself and rewatching the clip. I like many others took the commercial as her wanting to make a better choice towards her health. Why eat an actual slice of cheesecake with all the fats and what not when you can eat a yogurt that claims to taste just as good for a fraction of the calories. However, the way the Association is twisting it, yes, I can see now how it can be taken by someone suffering with either anorexia or bulimia. Me being the chubby lumpkin I am, thought it was just her making a smart choice. I have the same conversations with my inner self standing infront of my fridge. I think people now a days are just a bit jumpy with everything.
Thanks for your comment Trisha. I wonder if being overweight vs. skinny makes a difference in how we see the commercial. I would love to hear how a thin, but not anorexic, person saw this.
P.S. I don't think the yogurt tastes NEAR as good as the real thing, but it IS a better choice if we're talking strictly calories.
I saw the commercial on TV and thought it was funny. It reminded me of the conversations I also have with myself. The group that thinks this commercial will cause eating disorders is taking itself too seriously. And, Yoplait is silly for believing them.
Hi!
I've never seen that commercial, but to me it was showing the woman making a better healthier choice. How does that have anything to do with eating disorders, who makes these decisions anyway? Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books
http://sherriesbooks.blogspot.com/2011/06/review-chicken-la-king-buffalo-wing.html
I saw that commercial before. I don't think it cause people to have an eating disorder. To me I think it was just implementing that one could choose a healthier option. I like cheese cake, but sometimes it's better to choose a healthier option. I don't deny myself anything, but eating in moderation is the key and that goes for food and desserts.
Thanks ladies. It's interesting to see that we all agree that this commercial didn't show anything wrong. I wonder what influence the group that encouraged Yogplait to pull this has. It seems like they would have been in a vast minority, so I don't know why Yoplait would have listened.
Seems like a very natural decision process. I think they meant to imitate real life and advertise a better choice. There are all manner of people with issues. I can think of tens of places where they could do better with body image considerations than a yogurt commercial. That's actually good for health! This whole sensitivity thing is taking on a life of it's own. Sensitivity without perspective. I agree, they need not have pulled the commercial!
This seems a bit bizarre. The commercial is modeling exactly the sort of thing I had to do to get over my disordered overeating. If they want to pull commercials, please could it be the ones that show giant gooey pizza slices that you can practically smell through the television? That sort of thing is much more triggering for me. Especially when skinny models are shown eating it.
Anne: I agree on the sensitivity issue. Where does it end?
Joy: Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I'm glad to have you! I completely understand what you are saying. As a person who has changed her lifestyle to eat healthier and add exercise when possible, I have a hard time with food commercials when they are encouraging poor eating habits. I liked that this woman wasn't grabbing the whole cheesecake and justifying why she should eat it all because she deserved it.
I thought the commercial was funny and realistic. We all have these kinds of discussions with ourselves and they are good discussions.
It's always a good idea to stop and think before eating -- even if the food is low-fat and healthful, it is *still* possible to overindulge.
The commercial sent a good message (no matter what you think about Yoplait): silly bargaining with yourself generally doesn't work, and there are smart and healthful ways to enjoy food.
Beth, you make a good point that you can overindulge on low fat, healthy foods as well. If we supposedly have an obesity epidemic in this country, why wouldn't we want to spread this message?
Karen: I'm still thinking about this and I think your observation about the obesity epidemic is key. The objections to this commercial were from a group that advocates for solutions to anorexia and bulimia. I get that those are serious, even fatal, diseases that deserve lots of attention. But the solution can't be a ban on showing careful deliberations about eating treats because so many more of us are suffering from over-treating ourselves leading to an obesity epidemic.
Joy: It seems like somewhere along the way we lost balance. The group that wanted the commercial banned seems to have forgotten that this is showing the woman eating healthy choices. People with eating disorders have an unhealthy relationship with food. I don't know.... I'm big into balance, and this commercial seemed perfect to me.
I thought it was a funny commercial and pretty realistic when I first saw it. People need to take a little responsibility for themselves. Reminds me of the McDonald's issue. I know plenty of thin people who eat McDOnald's, it doesn't cause obesity, overeating does. But these kind of things do bring about dialog and awareness which is a great thing. They should keep the commercial.
You have a point about the dialogue. This conversation is all over the internet, so maybe pulling the commercial was actually the better choice. The ad execs might have more insight than we do after all!
You can eat all things in moderation, that's my basic premise. I have realized that snacking for me is bad. To totally deny myself could lead to a larger slice later.
I agree that denial leads to a larger slice later. I have found that for me I do have to give in sometimes as well. Those are mental conversations we have with ourselves as well. I think in the end we all do some kind of bargaining or denying in some ways.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment!
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