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Film
to combat obesity, bullying
by Noreen
Lewis Cochran
| ncochran@neighbornewspapers.com
September 7, 2011
 Watching “The Fat Boy Chronicles”
Sept. 15 at North Springs Charter High
School may help parents and students
overcome intimidation and embrace better
health.
In the 2010 Tin Roof Films release,
based on the 2010 book cowritten by
Alpharetta resident Mike Buchanan,
protagonist Jimmy Winterpock is a high
school freshman terrorized by
upperclassmen because of his appearance.
District 7 Fulton County Board of
Education member Julia Bernath said the
school system supports the nonprofit Sandy
Springs Education Force’s showing of the
film.
“We are collectively hoping that
exposing our community to issues such as
bullying and raising awareness on
childhood obesity will help our community
to recognize the problems in today’s
society,” she said.
Nonprofit Executive Director Irene
Schweiger agreed.
“It’s a very big issue,” she
said. “Obesity is a cause of it because
it starts the bullying.”
The film also deals with making the
transition from middle school to high
school.
“Normally, our mission is for
students to graduate high school, but a
middle-school principal came to us to ask
if we could stage the screening,”
Schweiger said. “These issues impact
whether they will be able to graduate high
school.”
Graduation could be imperiled by the
triple-whammy of obesity, bullying and
truancy, said the book’s coauthor.
“The No. 1 reason to be bullied, by
60 percent more, is to be the overweight
kid. More studies will begin to connect
the three issues that are now too
separate,” Buchanan said.
Buchanan and his cowriter, Cincinnati
resident Diane Lang, will be amongst the
speakers in a panel discussion after the
film.
“We have so many experts that will be
there,” Schweiger said. “We’re going
to talk to parents about what they can
look for and what they can do.”
Experts include Dr. Mark Wulkan of
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, who
said “baby fat” on a growing child is
different from childhood obesity.
“In fact, 30 percent of preschoolers
who are overweight become obese adults and
80 percent of adolescents who are
overweight become obese adults,” he
said. “In our efforts to combat obesity
we promote healthy behaviors rather than
concentrate on weight. If kids make
healthy changes, they will achieve healthy
weights.”
Other panelists include the film’s
lead actor, Christopher Rivera, director
and Alpharetta native Jason Winn, Sandy
Springs police officer Tim Burell,
nutrition counselor Alisa Winters,
bullying expert Holli Levinson and teacher
David Rifkin of Haynes Bridge Middle
School in Alpharetta.
If you go
• What: “The Fat
Boy Chronicles”
• When: Sept. 15 at 7
p.m.
• Where: North Springs
Charter High School, 7447 Roswell Road,
Sandy Springs
• Cost: $10 plus $1.54
fee
• Information: visit www.sseffatboychronicles.eventbrite.com
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