The Simpsons’ obesity drive

The health department thinks Homer and family can promote healthier lifestyles. D'oh! Or should that be DoH?

For post number 7, I had to select a new from guardian.co.uk related with my carreer, and write a summary of it.
Well, I chose a new that connects my career with one of my favorite series: The Simpsons. This is a article written by Neville Rigby.
The government's official obesity campaign is turning to cartoons capers in a way to persuade everyone to make our kids take up healthier eating and exercise. The Department of Health took £640.000 to Change4life to sponsor The Simpsons. The public health minister, Gillian Merron said that Homer gives a good message to kids and families about “simple ways of improving their diet and activity for a healthier lifestyle". Some things they forget it is that obesity is symptomatic of some fundamental and structural changes in society that have gone on over many decades and have had a quite marked adverse impact, and the government prefers to promulgate a "public health announcement" besides search the causes of obesity.
In the 90s one of the most popular chapters of The Simpsons was when Homer became obese to obtain a disability dispensation to work from home; but he succumb to ill-health due to his weight, and being a victim of the all too familiar discrimination suffered by obese people.
Nothing proves that chapter helped to make conscience about obesity. Actually, the obesity rates have risen 50% in the years since the programme first went out.
But Homer's dumb expression will take on a new meaning from now on – DoH (Department of Health).
Well, this is the new I chose, I found it very interesting because the obesity, like the article says, has its roots in the structural changes in the society, and I don’t think that a campaign with fashionable cartoons can make the difference.
That’s all for today, see you in the next post!!

The link of the new is http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/06/simpsons-health-obesity