Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta will release edgy new print and television ads Tuesday after testing them in Macon and Columbus, where they “did what they were supposed to do,” according to hospital President and CEO Donna Hyland.

“They got people talking,” she said at a press conference Monday at the hospital’s Scottish Rite campus in Sandy Springs about images of overweight children and the slogan, “Stop sugarcoating it, Georgia” in a campaign called Strong4Life.

Hyland said the hospital system took on the “largest public awareness campaign on childhood obesity to ever hit Georgia” because of adult diseases and playground bullying that accompany childhood obesity.

“Helping families get and stay healthy is our mission,” the Sandy Springs resident said. “This is one of the most significant problems that is resulting in pain and suffering for kids.”

With 900,000, or 40 percent of 2.7 million children, obese, only Mississippi outranks Georgia in the epidemic, according to the Washington-based Trust for America’s Health.

“Childhood obesity has increased over 300 percent in the last 30 years,” said Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, commissioner of the state department of public health. “Most parents don’t understand that obesity is a major medical problem for their children.”

Doug Hertz, chair of the hospital board of trustees, said the issue is also an obstacle for both current and prospective Georgia businesses.

“All of this will have a long-term impact on our corporate health-care costs,” he said. “The fact that we have the second-highest rate of obesity in the country makes Georgia a less competitive place to be.”

Hertz said many stakeholders need to work toward a solution.

“What has been done to date is obviously not working,” he said. “All of us who care about children need to pay attention. We can’t take the easy way out.”

The slow way out, however, may be the most effective way to reverse a 30-year trend attributed to a culture of unhealthy food and lack of exercise.

Ad campaign star Maya Walters, 14, said Strong4Life nutritionists encouraged the “baby step” of drinking more water and fewer sugary drinks.

“Once you get off the sugary drinks, you lose your taste for them,” she said after the conference.

Buckhead resident Stephanie Blank, wife of Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank and immediate past chair of the hospital foundation board, said Strong4Life results are impressive.

“These children are owning this process. It’s transforming. They’re not passive anymore,” she said. “The empowerment is amazing.”

Information: visit www.Strong4Life.com.