The simple truth is that Americans are getting fatter at an alarming rate, and that's not good for anyone, whether you're looking at it from a personal health standpoint, or at the economic impact of the costs of preventable diseases due to obesity. This is a VERY serious problem for our country and, more increasingly, the world.

This campaign attempted to target overweight people as they are most at risk of becoming obese, but the team felt that they are still likely to feel that they can affect their weight positively.

Families were also targeted, as the group hoped that they could influence the largest number of people, long-term, by marketing towards families with children.

In their own words:

It's hard to stay in shape these days. Our entire lives are built around driving cars, eating on the run, and spending our free time relaxing in front of the TV or computer. We live in neighborhoods without sidewalks; we are surrounded by high calorie and high fat foods; we drive more than we walk or ride bikes.

All of these factors may contribute to the fact that two out of every three Americans are now overweight or obese -- defined as having a body mass index over 25 -- and that number is rising. While this problem is widely recognized as a public health crisis, we don't have nearly enough information about realistic ways that regular people can actually change their lives and bodies. For many of us, a vigorous workout regimen or restrictive diet is just not possible.

At the same time, we want to be healthy not just for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren. And we all know that if we don't follow established healthy eating patterns, and continue to decrease our activity levels, we might not be able to do that.

(source: www.smallstep.gov/step_1/step1_issue.html)