I think Michelle has a lot of "junk in her trunk".
If she wanted to haul a$$, it might take two trips.
Posted on 02/10/2010 4:54:21 AM PST by shortstop
I appreciate Michelle's concern, but if your kid is fat, it's your fault.
Period.
It's not the high-fructose corn syrup, it's not the drive-thru, it's not the Lucky Charms, it's you.
And she can call for billions in new spending -- as she has -- she can call for curbs on advertising to children -- as she has -- she can even call for Grocers for Ghettos -- as she has -- but it's still going to come down to bad parenting.
Let me repeat that, to make sure I hurt your feelings: Bad parenting.
Fat kids don't have a sedentary lifestyle or a metabolic imbalance, they have bad parents. Usually parents who have poorly managed their own weight as well.
But in the day of blame somebody else and go to the government for help, individual and family responsibility aren't even thought of -- even though they are the only solutions to this national epidemic.
Welcome to America, where our poor people are fat. In fact, where they're fatter than any other demographic in the society. But the rest of the folks aren't far behind. In America today, the average person is fat. Fat is the new normal and, with just a few more percentage ticks, obesity will take over as the most common body type.
That's something to be proud of.
To her credit, First Lady Michelle Obama is focusing public attention on childhood obesity. Unfortunately, she has the same big-government tendancies as her husband. She will ask Congress to spend yet more billions and Americans to accept yet more restrictions. Probably both will go along. Probably neither will do any good.
Because this is a matter of personal choice, conduct and responsibility.,p.
And accepting that is the first step to overcoming the problem. Unfortunately, in the era of blame shifting, everybody wants something or someone else to pin the responsibility on. So people hiss at food additives, or fast-food places, or soda-pop companies, or the people who make ice cream and potato chips. They blame it on their genes or the fact they live in a poor neighborhood or the TV ads or what's for lunch at the school.
But all those things are excuses.People get fat because they let themselves. Kids get fat because their parents let them. The parents lack whatever it takes to recognize the problem, care about it and fix it -- and the kids suffer as a result.The bottom line is that adults determine what their children eat, and to a large extent what their children do. They consequently determine who their children are -- at least when it comes to gross tonnage.These are hard words, but they are true and necessary.In the days of the Seven Deadly Sins -- before we diversitied ourselves past the point of believing in right and wrong -- two of the big wrongs were Gluttony and Sloth. Gluttony was eating too much and sloth was doing too little.Whereas they once were sins, gluttony and sloth have now become the American way of life. We have ballooned. We eat like pigs and we lay around like dogs.And that steady equilbrium of calories in and calories out cannot be denied. If you eat more than you burn, you pack on. And if you pack on, it's going to show. And someday it might kill.
Which ought to be all the motivation parents need.But reality shows that it's not. Reality shows that many parents seem to not care at all.Because the health problems associated with being overweight are obvious. Ditto for the social problems. And you'd think the average parent would want Junior to avoid unnecessary health and social problems. It would seem that dodging the bullet of diabetes would be a good thing. It would seem that helping to sidestep the express lane to heart disease and high blood pressure would be very desirable.But as the bumper crop of fat kids shows, it isn't.And that is a national tragedy.
So God bless the First Lady as she raises awareness. And God bless parents as they make the effort to learn how to cook and prepare balanced meals for their children, as they learn that soft drinks and sugary drinks are treats to be enjoyed infrequently, as they learn that they should cook at home and avoid prepared foods, as they include vegetables and fewer fried foods in their meals -- and as they chase their kids out from in front of the TV.
And God bless parents to recognize that their own example may be their child's greatest curse.
Son and daughter are fat because mom and dad are fat -- and it's nurture, not nature. It's bad choices meeting bad example for a bad outcome.
And, believe it or not, I say that because I love you. Because your health and happiness matter to me. And the health and happiness of your children matters even more. And it can't go on the way it's been going. Out lack of discipline is literally killing us.
So lose weight, and make your children lose weight.
Eat better, eat less, exercise more.Get a simple cookbook. Make your food from scratch. Avoid prepared foods. Eat reasonable amounts. Dessert is a treat. Avoid sugary drinks. Eat out less often. Turn off the TV. Go out and play. Walk around the block. Go swimming or bicycling or hiking. Drop down and do some pushups or jumping jacks. Get enough sleep. Eat together as a family around the dinner table. No candy except as a treat.
These are simple common-sense things that we have completely forgotten.
And our children will suffer as a result.At the end of the day, the only children Mrs. Obama can save are her own. Because this isn't a government problem, this is a parenting problem.Parents caused it, and parents can fix it.
Only parents can fix it.
And if they don't, it won't get fixed.
This coming from someone who outweighs her old mad, two kids and the dog combined!
I think Michelle has a lot of "junk in her trunk".
If she wanted to haul a$$, it might take two trips.
Se is not the best spokesperson.
Wookies are lean, not fat. Don't insult them by comparing them to MO ... it's not wise to upset a wookie.
Big MO is the new Fat Czar.
We’ve got a tax cheat taking care of the treasury, an overweight Surgeon General and First Lady, and a Commander in Chief with no respect for his military. We’re in the midst of a serious recession and they’re partying like there’s no tomorrow. It’s the world turned upside down.
Just another jerk whose probably never had a weight problem his entire life.
There's an interview somewhere online with a Dr. John Lustug, a pediatrician, who the FIRST thing he does is remove all the HFCS, and then concentrates on lowering the FRUCTOSE content of the diet.
There's a Dr. Robert Johnson who has written a book on how to successfully reduce your dietary fructose. If you're interested in how these experts are working with their patients and with the research they've done into the FRUCTOSE/diabetes and FRUCTOSE/gout and FRUCTOSE/fattie phenomenon, then http://www.google.com is Your Friend
IF Michelle Obama can create an interest in exercise & health among the nation's youth, good for her.
What I dislike about her concentrating on the issue of childhood obesity is that BLOWHARDS will continue to arrogantly pontificate about matters they are IGNORANT about.
What is Michelle Obama’s excuse for her body shape?
She thinks her own kids are fat- she told the world their doctor had “concerns” about them.
She is an idiot. A boob belt wearing idiot with a husband whose goofy ears stand up when he raves about the White House pie, waffles, and grits.
It is interesting she didnt have the overweight surgeon general and the endlessly yo-yo overweight Oprah Winfrey with her at her anti-obesity presser.
I say the answer to the national obesity problem is dark colors, strategically placed boob belts, and air brushing. And lipo as a Constitutional right.
Don’t worry Michelle, by the time your nimrod hubby gets done destroying the economy we will all be on a forced diet.
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