obama childhood-obesity initiative

An Open Letter
To Whomever May Care:

The role of the agricultural revolution in America has resulted in most all Americans, not just children, now being the most overweight & obese of any nation. If you simply look at a typical supermarket you will see what appears to be a universe of food choices. This is a mere optical illusion, because there really isn't much choice in real foods available in supermarkets, except in packaging. Healthy choices are quite limited! The ingredients in most all the foods sold in supermarkets are very limited & strikingly similiar. For example, corn syrup is in many foods, because it is subsidized by American tax dollars. This is just one of the many examples of stealthy corporate food subsidies that has occured since the great depression. How else could you get a dollar burger that should cost about $35.00 each? Now, we the People are reaping the results of a poor food policy that has been sown over the years. The truth is that Americans increasingly eat the most denatured and processed toxic foods in the world on a regular basis. This has been due to mega corporate subsidies of our food supplies both in schools and in the fast food and packaged food industries. This has largely occured without a public discussion or even knowledge of such a policy and the implications for health. Our corporate members of the community have in other words been enriched at the expense of real people just for the money. What we need is a new look at real food and healthy eating. Remember, Glutony is not a new concept except in America.

We need to have a range of choices in eating whole foods that are natural & non-toxic. Why not have farmer's markets food in every school that is non-toxic,& not taxed so that this practice will be incentivized to grow and prosper. Expand food choices & limit the toxic content and processing.

Please pass this on to the top policy makers and see if we can't get some common sense injected back into our community choices that are good for our children and our citizens.

Sincerely yours,

James E. Crawford, MA, JD, LPC, NCC
Reporter
United Life Press International

Parents:
Make your family supper. Make enough so they take leftovers for lunch the next day or keep the meal "adaptable" so for kids and parents eating in locations without the use of a microwave (such as chicken being "re-purposed" as a chicken salad sandwich or garden salad with chopped chicken.
When buying groceries figure out exactly what you are going to eat for breakfast, lunch and supper for the entire week. Ask the family for input or suggestions, but make it clear the cook has final choice-this will help keep the family budget on target and you will avoid making multiple suppers to suit different tastes.
Each child gets to choose ONE snack that is less than healthy (chip bags, cookies) but buy only enough for that child, for one week's lunch time snack. This limits over-eating by others and the child. All other snacks can be a choice of fruit or chopped vegetables in zip-lock baggies.
Keep semi-healthy foods on hand, such as popcorn or cereal, in case you need an extra snack in the evenings.
By just following these suggestions you can control (on the home-front at least) what your family is eating and hopefully limit their expanding waistlines.
I have done this with my own family and it really works well.

I'm a little surprised at how unfeeling people who are commenting on this article are. "Read food labels"? "Count calories"? We're talking about kindergartners here!! I agree, at a certain point in life, you can't point the finger at others for not being able to live a healthy life, but we are talking about children here who haven't learned what "healthy" means. They're parents aren't teaching them and the food system is working against them. And you can blame the parents all you want, but at some point, you have to stop blaming people and doing something to solve the problem (something Republicans haven't learned to do yet). I'm all for Michelle Obama speaking out about this issue. Somebody has to, before the junk food companies poison yet another generation.

You say the parents need to take care of this. Then why aren't you?It is sad that she feels she needs to act because you aren't.

Here! Here! This is an individual issue, not a government one. And, I think Mrs. Obama is just looking for ways to promote her husband's agenda and keep herself in the light. She couldn't care less about the welfare of American children. If so she'd be promoting teaching these kids to read, think critically and do math. Then they would be able to think for themselves and not have to have the government take care of them. Read labels on food. Add up the calories and deduce whether this is good for you or not.

The private and national debt of the next generation is going to cut life expectancy much faster than ever because of not well educated parents and free education with free lunch!!!

Even British SUPER model controversial Kate gave a better economic advice (she is not healthy) but she knows how to survive : ~... " NOTHING TASTE as skinny feels,".. silly comment but her daughter will have no debts!!

We have gone that far down on our priorities, that her way of thinking got her DEBT FREE!!!! Besides all the mayor problems on her life.
I hope I'm very wrong!!!

I agree that we need to take responsibility for ourselves, but I also agree that our food system is delivering too many snack size, food-like substances which are laced with preservatives, high fructose corn syrup and more. It may look wholesome and even taste wholesome, but sometimes it isn't and our kids are paying the price.

School is an excellent place to standardize our lessons about some of life's most basic, yet important lessons-- food choices, food portions, personal accounting (check books, bills), physical education, etc. We seem to think kids are getting these lessons at home....look around...they're not.

Look a little closer and you may see their parents didn't get it either. The only thing that can make a change is a change in itself.

Sure there are a lot of pressing issues, but this one is a pet peeve of mine. Mrs. Obama can bring a lot of attention to it being a mom with school-age children much more so than the FDA and why would the FDA even care? If you see what kids get for lunch, you would understand why there is an obesity epidemic. It's even worse in highschool than it is in grade school with no one telling them what they can eat. A lot of kids are eating chips, cookies and ice cream everyday. You can't blame the kids because it's there in front of them and there's no parent looking over their shoulder. The parents pay the bill without knowing what they are getting. You can't blame the parents because we have no control. You can't blame the school because processed foods are the easiest way to stay in budget. You can't blame the food companies because they are out to make a profit like any other good business. So who can make a change other than the government influenced by the people's will? It's time to take to heart the age-old saying of "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".

While I agree childhood obesity is an issue, there are many more pressing issues in our country that the first lady could work on.

"It’s very easy to say people should eat less and move more,” says Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at New York University and author of What to Eat (North Point Press, 2006).

Telling someone that they cant do something, they wont. Tell them they can, they will. The comment above is just another example how to inject gov't into everything. People you have to be resposible for yourself first, no one and no amount of money can fix that. At the end of the day its up to you!