Young viewers say they get the ad's message that overindulgence leads to obesity

From Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen

ATLANTA (CNN) -- In a 30-second spot entitled "Pigging Out," a boy scarfs down a refrigerator full of goodies, his body inflates like a balloon and he ends his feast with a giant belch.

Some doctors and dietitians said they were horrified when they saw the public service announcement from the American Heart Association.

"I was shocked," said registered dietician Joanne Ikeda of the University of California at Berkeley. "I was very surprised that the AHA would produce a public service announcement like this."

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Ikeda said the TV spot equated being overweight with being disgusting.

The American Heart Association took the PSA off the air a few months ago. But still, it highlights a major public health issue: What is the best way to get children to lose weight?

The AHA says it won't produce another such advertisement, but says it was effective.

"The focus group testing feedback that we received from children is that they clearly got the message that overindulgence clearly leads to obesity and they got the message that obesity is a health risk," said AHA spokeswoman Brigid McHugh Sanner.

When CNN showed the PSA to a group of children, they all said it was funny, but ineffective.

"All it shows is a guy sitting there eating and all of the sudden he gets fat," said Brandon West, 13. "It doesn't happen overnight or anything. It just happens slowly and sometimes you don't notice."

Experts say West is right.

Dr. William Dietz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said children tend to gain weight gradually and should take it off gradually.

He said if a child cuts out just 100 calories a day, he'll lose 10 pounds a year.

"And 100 calories is not a major caloric excess," Dietz said. "It's a piece of bread; it's half an extra bowl of cereal; it's an extra cookie; it's a controllable amount of food."