The word "Żryj" with the "r" crossed out and a caricature of an obese patient on a chair the size of a pin. Such posters at public transport stops are to encourage Poles to change their diet. The president of the Polish Society for Obesity Research strongly condemns the action, and the Social Ombudsman for Obesity Patients in the letter to the organizers and partners of the campaign writes: - The campaign, which was supposed to be educational, was discriminatory.
Posters with works awarded in the 19th AMS Poster Gallery competition, in the edition en titled "Eat carefully", have appeared at public transport stops in many Polish cities. The work to encourage people to change their diet and thus prevent overweight and obesity caused a lot of controversy among overweight and obese patients. - Some of the presented works strengthen the stereotypical image of the obesity disease and contribute to the discrimination and stigmatization of people with this disease - writes Magdalena Gajda, Social Ombudsman for Obesity Patients, President of the Obesity Patients Foundation OD-WAGA obesity in the Open Letter to campaign organizers.
Obesity is a disease!
- Obesity was entered by the World He alth Organization (WHO) on the International List of Diseases and He alth Problems (ICD-10 classification) under the code E66 more than 50 years ago - we read in the OD-WAGA Foundation Open List. - Contemporary obesity is a complex chronic disease caused by many environmental, psychological, metabolic, hormonal and genetic factors simultaneously; a disease that requires treatment by obesitologists (specialists in the treatment of overweight and obesity) and teams of supportive specialists - bariatric surgeons, doctors of other speci alties, nutritionists, psychologists and physiotherapists. Treatment of obesity at its individual stages (overweight, obesity I and II degree, obesity grade III, i.e. morbid obesity) requires the use of various therapies (conservative, pharmacological, surgical) tailored individually to each patient. Obesity is a disease that leads to over 50 other serious illnesses, disability, third party addiction and finally death.
- Obesity does not result only from "eating fast food" - it also affects people who do not have this form of food on their menu, as well as peoplesick with other diseases. Meanwhile, some of the works awarded in the competition promote the short message: "stop eating" junk food ", you will not be obese". This is more than a simplification. This statement is factually untrue, reinforcing the erroneous perception of obesity and extremely harmful to people suffering from obesity - justifies the OD-WAGA Foundation.
Shocks because he despises
The storm in the environment of people suffering from obesity and people with eating disorders was also triggered by a poster presenting the inscription "Żryj" with the letter "R" crossed out. - The message, which we think - writes the OD-WAGA Foundation - was to draw the attention of the public to make food choices beneficial for "life", after placing it along with other campaign posters referring directly to obese patients, radically changed its meaning . The use of the word combination "live-live" has been understood as brutally comparing obese people and people with eating disorders to farm animals and the way they are fed. As a result, this poster contributes to the dehumanization, in a way animalistic, of this group of sick people.
"When I saw the poster" Żryj "-" Żyj "I was speechless …"The poster campaign is commented on byPresident of the Polish Society for Research on Obesity, prof. dr hab. n. med. Magdalena Olszanecka - Glinianowicz : - I could not have imagined that in the 21st century, when we know so much about obesity and eating disorders, someone would even think to promote he alth in this way . Such actions absolutely do not require you to change your diet. On the contrary! Because obesity and eating disorders are characterized by the fact that they are associated with remorse and guilt. Such campaigns only worsen the well-being of the sick and contribute to the development of the disease. As a public he alth specialist and a European obesity treatment specialist, I hope that no money has been spent on this campaign from the Polish taxpayer.
In the information on the website of the organizer of the competition "Eat carefully" we read: "The jury also liked two projects, which were distinguished by a slightly playful tone and elegant graphic form: a portrait of a monstrous fat man that does not fit on a microscopic chair (…)". The OD-WAGA Foundation explains in its Open Letter that this poster "openly mocks people suffering from obesity, the symptom of their disease, which is the accumulation of adipose tissue, and the problems caused by obesity in everyday functioning". The OD-WAGA Foundation indicates that, according to the guidelines of the World and European Society for the Study of Obesity, the expression: "fat man"("Monstrous fat man") is considered "a manifestation of stigmatization of people suffering from obesity and does not function in the dictionary of societies guided by the principles of respect for people".
The Social Ombudsman for Obesity Patients also draws attention to the fact that the figure above shows a caricatured person suffering from obesity, the so-called extremely enormous, and this group of patients is particularly excluded. - People at this stage of the disease's development do not have access to treatment, are prisoners of their homes and beds, live in poverty or on the border of it, without the support of social assistance, and often also of their relatives. Presenting them in a caricatured way is simply inhuman - writes the Ombudsman for Obesity Patients.
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The intentions were good …
- We do not suspect the organizers of the campaign that she consciously contributed to the discrimination of obese patients, i.e. a group of several million Poles. The OD-WAGA Foundation did not know anything about this campaign, the competition jury did not include specialists in obesity, i.e. obesity treatment, who could assess the social and educational impact of the awarded works. We believe that campaigns to prevent overweight and obesity, promoting he althy eating are necessary, but should be conducted in accordance with the latest medical knowledge and with respect for patients. Our common goal should be social education about obesity. That is why we asked for explanations and we hope for a reasonable solution to this painful situation for us - says Magdalena Gajda, Social Ombudsman for Obesity Patients.
The Open Letter of the OD-WAGA Foundation was also sent to the attention of, inter alia, Ombudsman, Patient Rights Ombudsman and the Ministry of He alth. The full text of the letter: www.od-waga.org.pl