Commentary on the VERB Campaign - Perspectives on Social Marketing to Encourage Physical Activity Among Youth

Abstract

The VERB™ campaign is a serious public health investment that aims to tackle the societal and health problems of inactivity and increasing obesity among young Americans (1,2). Worrisome trends in risk factors among young people throughout the developed world reflect the lack of clearly effective public health approaches. Effecting population-level change is difficult, given the ingrained societal acceptability of sedentary behaviors and over-nutrition. VERB is an innovative and expansive effort to improve the current state of affairs, commencing with a national paid mass media campaign designed to reframe beliefs and norms about being active among tweens — children aged nine to 13 years. Secondary campaign objectives are to identify and influence key stakeholders, such as parents and teachers, and to work within communities to support opportunities for youth physical activity (1).

Keywords

• Commentary
• social marketing
• physical activity