Canberrans will come face-to-face with what potentially lies under their skin after a graphic advertising campaign highlighting the dangers of being overweight or obese was launched on Sunday night.

The "Live Lighter" campaign, funded by the Heart Foundation ACT and the ACT Government, takes people inside the human body and shows the damage that an unhealthy weight, poor diet and physical inactivity can cause to internal organs.

A new campaign takes a graphic approach to exposing the need for healthy living.

Based on anti-smoking campaigns, the advertisements show graphic, internal images of "toxic fat" surrounding vital organs, and warn of the links between a "grabbable gut" and chronic diseases.

Heart Foundation ACT chief executive Tony Stubbs said while the campaign was graphic, it was necessary to get the message through to the public.