Michelle Obama on Child Nutrition: ‘We Can’t Just Leave It Up To The Parents'

Yes and no. You people feed your kids garbage. And the grocery stores and restaurants supply garbage. All your kids are fat sloths and you like it. Its society's fault as well.

Originally posted by jetflock
Yes and no. You people feed your kids garbage. And the grocery stores and restaurants supply garbage. All your kids are fat sloths and you like it. Its society's fault as well.

Define *you people*

Some of the posts on this thread are very well thought out and make really great points about this subject.

But I would like to ask how many who have posted (or will be posting) on this thread actually do the grocery shopping for their household? I am not being snarky, but really, how many actually do the food shopping?

What have you noticed lately? Hint.. Pricing. I have seen prices on things rise quickly, very quickly.. like within in a few days a huge jump. And when you look at what the average family might buy and add in all of the increasing, it does add up and shrink your food budget.

And it has never been a big secret that it is cheaper to buy unhealthy foods. It is really expensive to buy healthy foods. Not organic, healthy.

This problem really does have the "which came first, the chicken or the egg" thing going on. Many would love to buy more healthy foods, but unable to afford them. And couple this with the school lunches and busy schedules and many just trying to keep their heads above water financially... we are screwed!

I haven't a clue what the answer is/should/could be.. all I know is as a parent, and the main grocery shopper, I do the best that I can to stock the home with healthy choices, well rounded meals and even exciting school lunches. And lets be honest before we start judging, sometimes you really do need a cookie or a hamburger from a fast food joint, and that is okay. But when a family can only afford the processed cheap stuff to live on, we have much bigger problems than "Ronald McDonald giving out food crack" to deal with.

I would just keep in mind how many parents think its ok to feed their children Mc. Donalds which I am guilty of as well. I think the statement is more less stating that certain systems can influence HEALTH CONDITIONS on their people that my help in increasing human health and lower obesity.... I dont think she is saying you parents are too dumb to know what is good for your children. I think she is saying some assistance and direction may help grow a better population...

reply to post by bozzchem


Here's a sorry fact for you: People are idiots.

Not all people, mind you.

But many many many people are idiots.

Of course, the problem is that this includes not just parents but legislators and school lunch coordinators as well.

Consider the number of kids out there whose parents (maybe) give them a pop tart and a juice box on their way out the door, trust them to eat well at school (when there are plenty of junk food options available), then grab some Mickey-D's on the way home in the evening.

I'm not saying that a nanny state for everyone is the way to go.

Then again, neither is the administration. This is about government subsidized school lunch programs. If you want to pack your kid a lunch or teach them to pack their own, go for it. That's how we roll in my house and I can guarantee you that my kid's food is tastier and more nutritious than anything the government's going to give her.

Don't take everything so personally. It's not that YOU can't be trusted to feed your kids. It's that the mouthbreathing consumer drones can't be trusted. Heck, these are the people who've voted for the various chuckleheads currently digging in to the government trough, these are the people who've made fast food one of the biggest industries in America, the people who have allowed corporate shills to bring sugar water and nutrient free instant-gratification bars into our schools, the people who let their kids get indoctrinated by 3-6 hours of TV drivel a day. Do YOU trust these people? Do you want the future of your country in their hands? In the hands of their kids?

The government can give me all the guidelines they want, I'm already doing better by my kids than they will ever be able to ask me to. In the meantime, something needs to be done about all those morons out there.

Originally posted by RobertAntonWeishaupt
reply to post by bozzchem

 

Here's a sorry fact for you: People are idiots.

Not all people, mind you.

But many many many people are idiots.

Of course, the problem is that this includes not just parents but legislators and school lunch coordinators as well.

Consider the number of kids out there whose parents (maybe) give them a pop tart and a juice box on their way out the door, trust them to eat well at school (when there are plenty of junk food options available), then grab some Mickey-D's on the way home in the evening.

I'm not saying that a nanny state for everyone is the way to go.

Then again, neither is the administration. This is about government subsidized school lunch programs. If you want to pack your kid a lunch or teach them to pack their own, go for it. That's how we roll in my house and I can guarantee you that my kid's food is tastier and more nutritious than anything the government's going to give her.

Don't take everything so personally. It's not that YOU can't be trusted to feed your kids. It's that the mouthbreathing consumer drones can't be trusted. Heck, these are the people who've voted for the various chuckleheads currently digging in to the government trough, these are the people who've made fast food one of the biggest industries in America, the people who have allowed corporate shills to bring sugar water and nutrient free instant-gratification bars into our schools, the people who let their kids get indoctrinated by 3-6 hours of TV drivel a day. Do YOU trust these people? Do you want the future of your country in their hands? In the hands of their kids?

The government can give me all the guidelines they want, I'm already doing better by my kids than they will ever be able to ask me to. In the meantime, something needs to be done about all those morons out there.

Guess what? "Idiots" and "mouthbreathing consumer drones" have the freedom and every right to exist/live as they choose/ chose what they eat or not. Its no business of yours and certainly not the place of the federal government.

reply to post by 46ACE



Right. And the government is not TELLING them what to eat. The government is telling subsidized food programs what to serve. I believe that mouth-breathing consumer drone idiots (no quotes needed as it is an accurate statement) have the unalienable right to send their kids to school with a belly full of high fructose corn syrup and lunch bucket filled with day-old french fries and snickers bars if they want. Conversely, government subsidized food programs should provide comprehensively nutritious food to the people who choose to take advantage of the program.

When I listen, this is what I hear

"We have been just allowing the companies that make crap to lie to people and tell them to feed crap to their kids. We have allowed our economy to get to a point where both parents need to work AT LEAST full time and are not as able to invest in raising their children, IE directly preparing meals for them, as in the past. We SEE A RESULT. Our children, AS BEING FED BY THEIR PARENTS NOW, are fat, lazy, have diabetes, bad hearts, breathing impairments at alarming rates. As result, our children are living shorter lives with fewer opportunities due to health and weight restrictions. Something needs to be done before our country is nothing but fat dying children."

I am going to guess that is just my liberal bias and what I should hear is "We are going to arrest you for letting your children eat corn syrup only because we hate freedom."

reply to post by 46ACE


No it's not the government's job to protect anyone, it's their jobs to allow corporations to feed death to your children in schools and in fast food restaurants, all for the sake of profit.

What about the kids that will grow up with health problem, what choice not to be sick and obese then?

reply to post by lifeform11


...LOL, but don't you dare try to take away my "Fish-And-Chips"

On a serious note, I don't believe in the monetary problem, as associated with nutrition. I have traveled to more countries then I care to remember, and, aside from the war-torn ones, I see very little nutrition-associated problems. I go to Cuba, and Vietnam, at least once a year, and their populations are healthy (aside from the contamination probs, resulting from biological warfare, in Nam).
In the UK, Scandinavia, Russia, Iberian Peninsula, and Central Europe, most of the people I see are relatively healthy. I think the problem in the States is of a completely different nature. Not only is there a culture of "free to be stupid", but, far worst, there is a palpable Angst in American society...food is just one of the visible outlets to this problem...brain-washing TV, and Radio, being others...

Here is an article that addresses one of my biggest issues with anyone using the BMI as a standard for determining if a person is obese. What Michelle Obama's childhood obesity project gets wrong

or here is another link BMI Not Accurate Indicator Of Body Fat, New Research Suggests

and yet another link BMI Not Accurate Indicator Of Body Fat

and a last link for good measure. BMI Might Be Inaccurate Assessment Of Obesity Among Minorities, Study Finds


The BMI is faulty logic IMO and many children and adults are getting labeled obese when they are far healthier and more active than their "in the range" counterparts. I also think if her words are not choosen carefully, we could see a real epidemic of young girls going on crash diets, becoming anorexic or bulimic because the first lady, a woman who serves as a role model for our young girls, is serving up a dose of self image issues to girls at a stage in their life where self identity is a huge deal.

I guess I see this whole campaign as un-needed in respect to the fact that the school lunch programs are under the governments control already so any problems within it should be addressed internally. If they want more healthy options available to our kids, do it. Same thing with the vending machines, they have no place in our schools and since these are "public schools" the government should have them removed and call it a day. Do either of these need a full campaign? Not IMO, these are internally problems and they should be addressed as such.

I'm hoping she meant as in leave them on their own to try to feed their kids healthy. Government should take steps to make healthy foods more easily available and have places to educate young parents on what his and isn't healthy. Trust me.. I would say the numbers of how many people let their kids eat mcdonalds several times a week would shock you. There just isn't really an alternative, no food that fast and cheap that is healthy.

If i go fast food I generally go tim hortons. Stuffs delicious too.

Am I wrong or was she just talking about the food they offer kids in the lunch line at school?

If I commit to my childrens helath when they are at home, I feel the school (whom I pay taxes for) should do the same.

I am totally not seeing how or why this would make anyone in any way so angry.

Obviously if the government tried to step foot into peoples home and edit the contents of their pantry and refrigerator then we would see outrage and most definitely revolt.

On what level cleaning out the school systems junk food system and replacing it with (hopefully) better balanced foods a bad thing?

I smell political trolling to the highest degree here...

reply to post by open_eyeballs


Yeah.. if you haven't noticed people around here like to stretch stuff and sensationalize it.
It gets as bad as Fox news. She isn't talking about trying to control what hey are fed at home.

reply to post by Justaposter


I have to agree, i noticed this morning, that roast has Jumped a LOT, a small roast last time i checked was around $8 to $10 , but this morning the cheapest roast i could find was $16. I was thinking stew for dinner tomorrow, but after checking the prices , i'm thinking maby wait for a sale.

There are other things that i have noticed that have jumped a bit but not as much.

reply to post by severdsoul


Yes, food has jumped in price. I went to get some baking mix - was sorta in a hurry and it shortens my prep time. It was 1.68 the last time I bought i- a couple of months ago. It was 2.79 yesterday for the same brand and amount.
Since I CAN make my own, I save a dollar and make it myself next time.

Originally posted by lynn112
Here is an article that addresses one of my biggest issues with anyone using the BMI as a standard for determining if a person is obese. What Michelle Obama's childhood obesity project gets wrong

or here is another link BMI Not Accurate Indicator Of Body Fat, New Research Suggests

and yet another link BMI Not Accurate Indicator Of Body Fat

and a last link for good measure. BMI Might Be Inaccurate Assessment Of Obesity Among Minorities, Study Finds

The BMI is faulty logic IMO and many children and adults are getting labeled obese when they are far healthier and more active than their "in the range" counterparts. I also think if her words are not choosen carefully, we could see a real epidemic of young girls going on crash diets, becoming anorexic or bulimic because the first lady, a woman who serves as a role model for our young girls, is serving up a dose of self image issues to girls at a stage in their life where self identity is a huge deal.

You are dead right about the BMI.

It does not measure fat, only size. Some people have the bone structure of ants, and some have the bone structure of tanks.

The only non-invasive ways to test for body-fat% are buoyancy or the tense and squeeze test.

I had to laugh when I was doing serious cycling training, over 100km per day, and went to a gym for weight training. I had a concave abdomen, you could count my ribs from a distance, my breasts had vanished due to lack of bodyfat, and the massage school I was attending kept using me for a model because my muscles were so well delineated. Yet the midget-girl at the gym measured me, told me I was overweight and wanted me to go on a diet and do slimming exercises!

I did find an older guy working there who understood about athletic training and had no time for "new-fangled nonsense" like BMI.