Bus Stop Scales: The Weight of Shame
This bus stop advert in The Netherlands is linked to a set of scales that shows the weight of the person sitting in the shelter.
The ad is for Fitness First (a gym). Presumably you're so embarrassed the public display of your weight - that you go running for the nearest Fitness First...
Nothing like fat-shame and humiliation to stir sales...
From ideas search engine.
More like this in Media Watch · Mar 22, 2009
15 Comments
Add Your Comment
ADVERTISING
New
- FROM DIET BLOG
- On-Off Fasting: Does It Work?
- 400 Calorie Fix
- 5 Factor World Diet
- Quick Giveaway: Powerhouse Weight Loss Game
- FORUM
- Low Carb Atkins Diet- Tips to Cut the Carbs.
- How Can I Gain a Healthy Weight and Keep it?
- How Do I Eat Healthy at University?
- Starving Myself and Exercising, But Not Losing an Ounce?
Categories
| Body Image Celebrities Diet Pills Diets Exercise |
Fast Food Funny Stuff Success Stories Teens and Kids Tips and Tools |
RSS Feed
Follow @DietBlog on Twitter
Just plain mean...and the focus is all wrong. The number on a scale has little to do with how healthy you are, how much energy you may have, how you feel most of the time, and what shape your heart and other organs are in. Humans come in all shapes and sizes. There are better indicators like total waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and percentage of body fat, but I'm pretty sure most of us know when we are beyond a body weight that is ideal and healthy for us. I know when I am. I can feel it, but my clothes also shout it out – loud and clear. Shame and humiliation are ineffective tactics...I think sensible, practical guidance mixed with gentle, positive encouragement works best...It works at home with our children and it works over and over in the classroom...seems like a perfect way to approach better health and weight loss in adults.
ReplyVery true. I only weigh in once a month or so now, just to make sure I'm staying around the same weight. However, I only trust my weight when I weigh in with no clothes. This would be only slightly embarrassing to do at the bus stop, so I can't picture myself ever using something like this.
ReplyI agree Kami. I am 5'1'' but weigh anywhere from 115 to 119 depending on hormones, time of month & such YET I wear a size 2, 4 or 6 depending on the clothes maker. Weight is not an indicator of how healthy one is or even their body fat since I am more muscle & weigh more.
In addition, I agree that this tactic does not work with many & in fact can lead to depression or bad thoughts of oneself & then the person may eat more.. remember the emotional eating part!
Also, a bit big brother!
Replycome on, who cares about how healthy you are or how much energy you have... we're all judged by our appearance, whether you like it or not...
...though the problem with the scales is an apparent infringement of privacy...
ReplyYes, there is judgment by appearance but to me, that is a problem in & of itself. Maybe people should get to know a person too no matter how they look! And, quite honestly, it does matter to me how healthy I am & how I feel. If someone does not like me for my appearance, than maybe they are not worth it.
ReplyI hear you...and when I was much younger, I would have likely agreed. My motivation to hit the gym then was absolutely about appearance and image. At 40 plus, I care very much about being optimally healthy, having plenty of energy, feeling good, longevity, and preventing cancer, heart disease, and knee replacement surgery. I get plenty of cardiovascular exercise to stay off high blood pressure medication (and it works!) because without it, I'd be popping a pill every day. My 19 year-old daughter is probably hitting the gym to look good in her swimsuit, but give her a few years and I'm confident her objective will change!
ReplyKami - well said -and thank heavens we get more sensible as we get older. Like you, I want to feel vibrant, healthy and alive and that's why I make sure I get enough exercise and eat well. But in my younger days it definitely was just all about how I looked!
ReplyIn my opinion it's a great idea for advertising the Fitness club :)
ReplyHolla! I agree. I think it's a great idea. Truth be told I think it's down right hilarious.
For those that think it's mean... Oh puh-lease! Comon, first of all it measures the weight sitting down... and we all know how much it will throw off the # when your feet touch the floor.
Second, some people really need to be shocked out of their daily trance that they are in. Trust me, there are ALOT of people who live in DENIAL about their weight. A trainer friend of mine had a lady who just would NOT step on a scale. How can you track progress without stats?
It's insanity... and they need to be brought out of it. And finally, I think its a humorous judge of self-esteem. I'd love to see the ones that are big and can show it. You know... have the scale read like 250 and they couldn't care less.
I think I'd pay to see that! ;)
ReplyIt's not exactly a new concept. The bathroom at the mall in my hometown had a scale in it. If you put a quarter in, you could weigh yourself and it would print out the weight and a fortune...my sis and I used to beg my mom to let us have a quarter and we'd both get on it and try to make it go over 100 lbs (we were like, 6 and 4 years old). I think a lot of places just stopped having them around because no one was using them...seriously, who would PAY money to find out what they weigh?
ReplyI've used one of those public bathroom scales. For the fortune, of course. :-)
ReplyI'd think that kind of marketing tactic would actually work against the fitness center. Really, no one is going to "shame me" into trying out their gym. What's next? You walk into their gym and a loud computer-activated voice says you're a fat arse? There should be an option to deactivation button on the seat for bus riders who don't want their weight shown to the world.
ReplyI'm not in to vandalizing, but this might cause me to vandalize the sign as well as the gym. I'll go eat some veggies now so I can mellow out.
ReplyNot to mention, I'm sure the scale is set to weigh in heavier than you actually are ... just to try to "shame" that many more people.
ReplyI think people should pile onto it like clowns in a car :-)
Reply