Ottawa physician Dr. Yoni Freedhoff fired a salvo at a corporate Goliath a few weeks ago and won.

The bariatric surgeon wrote a critical blog post about a new Disney exhibit called Habit Heroes, aimed at tackling childhood obesity.

The 4,700-square foot interactive exhibit had a recent "soft launch" at Epcot in Florida. Sponsored by the insurance companies Blue Cross and Blue Shield, the attraction allows children to follow two slim and fit cartoon characters, Will Power and Callie Stenics. Visitors could shoot virtual hotdogs with broccoli and enter a dance contest against one of the Bad Habits, a bulbous character called Lead Bottom who evidently got that way from lack of exercise.

Freedhoff, the founder of Ottawa's Bariatric Medical Institute, maintains a blog called Weighty Matters that attracts about 60,000 visitors a month. And he was appalled.

"Because after all, the kids with obesity are obviously just gluttonous and lazy and they probably lie around and eat junk food all day, right? That’s what Disney thinks." Freedhoff wrote, adding Dance, Dance Revolution and broccoli was a simplistic answer to a complex issue.

Freedhoff’s brief blog post attracted 97 comments. It snowballed from there, touching off a firestorm of debate about Disney’s approach to changing eating behaviour.

"I was an obese kid and if that type of exhibit had been around when I was growing up, it wouldn’t have stopped me from eating. More likely it would have made me feel so bad about myself that I would have shovelled food in to make myself feel better," said one Weighty Matters reader.

Others disagreed. One urged Freedhoff to "get off your politically correct soap box. Obesity is a real problem in this country. The majority of obese kids in America are in this shape due to poor eating habits and lack of exercise."

Meanwhile, other organizations presented Disney with petitions, including the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders and the National Association for Fat Acceptance.

Two days later, the Bad Habits attraction had been shuttered and Disney said it was being retooled. Spokeswoman Kathleen Prihoda told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: "That’s why we have a soft opening. So we can open it up to others and listen. We’ve heard the feedback."

In an interview this week, Freedhoff said the most disturbing things about Habit Heroes was that both vilified obesity and dumbed down the issue. Weight bias and bullying are part of the problem and "tough love" interventions have not been proven to be successful.

"We’re not going to exercise our way out of this. It’s an intake problem," said Freedhoff, who blames a food environment that promoted chocolate milk as a health food.

"If anyone thinks a 10-minute walk-through attraction at Disney will have an impact on childhood obesity, they’re wrong," he said.

"I doubt there’s a kid in North America who doesn’t know that you need to exercise and eat good food. I don’t think that kids have had a big loss of willpower in the last few decades."