If you love cheese, you’re not alone, and you may not want to read this.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) believes cheese to be the guilty culprit of our nation’s obesity problem. They believe it so much that they have recently began a billboard campaign in Albany, New York. Large billboards display dimply thighs or flabby guts and read, “Your Thighs on Cheese,” or “Your Abs on Cheese.”

Are they right? Is the ooey gooey goodness of cheese really the enemy?

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s estimates, Americans have tripled the amount of cheese they eat each year since 1970. Today, the average American eats 31 pounds of per year. Let’s be real, that’s a lot of cheese!

Neal Barnard is part of the PCRM and clearly stated how he feels about our cheese consumption, especially our children’s cheese consumption. “Cheese and other dairy products are the leading source of saturated fat that our kids are swallowing. And I think most Americans are totally oblivious to it.”
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It’s time to kick-off the second biggest food holiday of the year – Super Bowl. Yes, this annual NFL game is more than just an event, it’s considered by most to be a holiday. There’s something in Super Bowl Sunday for everyone, whether you’re the consummate party host, the consumer of game-day food, viewer of the half-time show (this year with Madonna), or you actually want to see the Giants and Patriots make a run for the XLVI title. Then, there is that one thing that almost everyone watches the Super Bowl for, and those are the commercials.

Advertisers are said to have paid an average of $3.5 million for each thirty-second commercial, which is expected to be seen by more than 111 million viewers. Brands from categories for beer, chips, soda, and cars dominate the commercial breaks. However, this year, we were pleased to see some healthier players take the ad field.

That’s why we’ve selected Oikos and Belvita as our favorite 2012 Super Bowl Commercials. Not only are they clever, and funny – a must for any Super Bowl commercial – but they also put front and center a few healthy options that viewers can find at their grocery stores. No doubt, by tomorrow morning, they’ll be wishing they’d eaten more healthful treats at the party.

Oikos Greek Yogurt Super Bowl Commercial

John Stamos appears pronouncing Oikos as “possibly the best Greek yogurt in the world,” a claim they uphold with a 2:1 favor over Chobani in a blind taste test.

Belvita Breakfast Crackers Super Bowl Commercial

Two police offers rave about their sustained energy to do their jobs thanks to enjoying a couple of Belvita breakfast crackers in the morning.

It’s refreshing to see something advertised that isn’t catering to nor promoting our gluttonous ways. When you’re sitting almost motionless for four hours on a couch surrounded by chips, cheese dip, grilled meat and beer, do you really need constant reminders to go out and buy more of it? We think not.

Need more Super Bowl commercials? Click here to see the making of the GoDaddy commercial with Jillian Michaels, Danica Patrick, and Natalia Velez.

Last week we reminded you of the gastronomic list of junk food marketing that’s about to burn our eyes on Sunday. Super Bowl commercials are traditionally made of potato chips, beer, soda, and pizza – the makings of a “proper” football party. We were pleasantly surprised to see Oikos Greek Yogurt make their Super Bowl debut, and deemed them Healthiest Super Bowl Ad. Now, it seems, we’ve got a runner-up in Belvita.

Belvita Breakfast Biscuits are a new packaged food from Nabisco, and they have a pretty amusing commercial running during the Super Bowl pre-game. You can watch it now. Then, read on to see why we aren’t throwing any flags on this new breakfast competitor.

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The city Health Department in New York is catching some heat for their latest ad campaign linking big soda portions and diabetes. One of the ads features an obese man who had his leg amputated due to type 2 diabetes. The ad reads “Portions have grown. So has type 2 diabetes, which can lead to amputations.”

The ads have caused a stir for their blunt messages, but the obese actor in the amputation ad is upset about the blunt appearance of his right leg.

27-year-old Cleo Berry, while living in NYC several years ago, participated in a paid photo shoot with photographer Morten Smidt. The photos were then sold to a stock photo company. The stock photo was purchased by New York City’s Department of Health, who digitally altered the photo to remove Berry’s right leg below the knee and used the photo as part of their anti-diabetes campaign.

Berry was floored.”I cried at my computer screen for, like, a minute,” he said. “I said: ‘Oh my gosh, they even gave me crutches. Come on, people.’ ”

It is common to alter purchased stock photos and Berry admits he signed a waiver before the photo shoot. The health department behind the ads dismisses the actor’s reaction, and thinks the ads are a part of something bigger.

“This issue isn’t about one actor but rather the 700,000 New Yorkers who struggle with diabetes, which kills 1,700 people a year and causes amputations in another 3,000,” said John Kelly, a spokesman for the health department, in a statement. “Advertising to warn the public about health concerns saves lives, and we will continue our efforts to warn New Yorkers about diabetes.”

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It might be Friday, but we stayed in tonight. We participated in Leah Segedie’s Twitter chat, #Ashamed, to raise awareness for the Georgia advertising campaign by Strong4Life attempting to curb the rampant childhood obesity epidemic in the state. If we’d been at the bar like everyone else celebrating TGIF it would have been standing room only. According to Leah there were 544 people tweeting on #Ashamed tonight. “I worked harder on that party than any I’ve ever done,” Leah told us shortly after the chat ended.

To show just how powerful social media is, or maybe how powerful Leah Segedie at BookieBoo and Mamavation is, this Twitter chat was organized practically over night and had a lot of interest, as that count of 544 shows. Additionally, Leah shared other stats, like 13 million impressions and 4859 tweets posted in the one-hour chat.

Leah told us she had two goals for #Ashamed. “First, to petition Strong 4 Life to take the billboards down. Second, to talk about the issue in a way that’s not shameful and gets the word out.” The public outcry over this campaign has been loud enough that some have already been taken down. The hope is that tonight’s nearly 600 voices on Twitter will remove them from the remaining areas, like Atlanta.

“Just take the damn things down,” Leah shouted. “It’s over and done with.”
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