Really? Did You Really Say That Sonia Kruger?

There are many things in this world I do not understand.  This double page glossy magazine advertisement is one of them.

I do not understand why Sonia Kruger, as brand ambassador for Swisse, was happy to be paid money to pose for a National print media advertising campaign and be quoted as having said:

"When friends tell me they are having trouble controlling their appetite, I recommend they try Swisse Ultiboost Appetite Suppresant."

Did she really, seriously say that?

She was recently referred to as a 'highly intelligent woman' on Mamamia with reference to a recent story about her still being open to having kids at 48.  I honestly have to question the intelligence of any high profile person who would allow themselves to be quoted as having said such a thing.

I do not understand why Australian Gourmet Traveller was happy to take Swisse's advertising dollars and actually print such bullshit.  The irony of which magazine I found the ad in is not lost on me.

I do not understand what kind of society we live in when a company makes these 'magic pills' and gets a celebrity to promote them with such a bullshit statement.  It all leaves a very bad taste in my mouth.  Enough to not bother renewing my subscription to AGT next year.  Enough to choose a different brand when I replenish my supply or Magnesium this week.

When did it become okay to advertise implying that it is okay not to eat?  Here take this supplement instead and you won't feel hungry. 

Have these people visited a hospital paediatric ward recently?  I have a few times this year and one constant, aside from the nurses and crying babies, were the young skeletal girls perched like baby birds on their beds being tube fed through their noses.  Refusing to eat from their trays.  Being told they can go home because they have gained 800g. The images are burned in my brain.  With 3 girls of my own they are images that haunt me.

Young girls, who through some twist of fate starve themselves in an act of control.  Starving themselves to be skinny.  Young girls who are influenced by this sort of shit in the media.

As a mother of 3 girls I can tell you I was quietly terrified seeing these shadows of girls with their bones sticking out and tubes up their noses.  As a mother of 3 girls I am very careful about the words I choose when talking about food and diet.  As a mother of 3 girls I try to be the best role model that I can be in the food and fitness department.  Food is one of my passions and I want to share that with them without ever making them feel guilty about food.

Despite my best attempts to educate them, my girls will undoubtedly be exposed to media bullshit like this.  They will still spend time with other girls who may come from homes where certain foods are considered 'naughty' or 'bad' or are told 'that such and such food will make them fat', or worse. 

I can't even begin to imagine why any woman, let along a high profile one, would feel comfortable promoting an appetite suppressant essentially saying 'here girls, take these you won't feel like eating, they will help make you skinny'. As a parent I don't even know how to explain to my young girls why a person might want to take such a thing and why this lady they see on the TV says it's okay.

Get your act together media.  I know that you need your advertising dollars to survive but surely you can be a little more selective about what you put in front of your audience.

Swisse, you need to get some morals, why do you make these magic pills anyway?  A magic pill with the made up chemical Slimaluma, so made up you've registered it as your own.  A pill that I doubt is much more than a placebo making a person think they arent hungry because they took a magic pill. 

You do of course disclaim your ad for the magic pill with the statement 'best used as part of a balanced diet and combined with regular exercise'.  Of course it does because that is generally accepted as being the best way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight range.  Not by suppressing your freaking appetite and not eating properly.  Long term that will do your body more harm than good.

My next bottle of Magnesium will be Blackmores.  They have a far more sensible take on the subject of appetite suppression

"Foods that can help with appetite control are low GI carbohydrates, high fibre foods and good quality protein. If you would like some personalised suggestions on how to include these types of food in your diet you can speak to one of Blackmores naturopaths by phoning 1800 803 760"

Far Out.

Does this ad get your goat as much as it got mine?  How do you tackle the slippery slope of weight and weight management with teenage girls?  I know I am going to need some serious hand holding when the time comes.

Tatum xx