Yesterday morning (5-6-11), the Today Show aired a special segment about obese children in Georgia. With GA ranked #2 in the nation in childhood obesity (behind only Mississippi), one non-profit group (See website at end) has launched a somewhat controversial ad campaign aimed at reversing this deadly trend among our young. The controversy is regarding their use of obese youngsters in the ads along with phrases like “Chubby kids may not outlive their parents” shown here. Among many groups voicing objections to the ads is the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.
This is the young girl who actually appeared on the Today Show -- shown here in one of the ads
Like Michelle Obama’s program, the Biggest Loser and many others, the primary emphasis is all about getting the kids moving — and not nearly enough about the fact that we’re eating the wrong food. In a full 15 minute segment today, they mentioned diet once or twice for maybe two seconds but made no mention about what kind of eating regimen would be necessary to curb obesity in children — or in anyone for that matter.
Of course, they trotted out a few “experts” and psychologists and people that opposed the ads but never mentioned the real cause of our 300% increase in childhood obesity in the past 30 years. Without a doubt, it’s the toxic western diet with meat, dairy and highly processed carbohydrates with oil, sugar and salt — three meals a day — 365 days a year.
Now — like on Dr. Oz, here come the mixed signals — a half hour later on the same show
While scanning through the last few segments of yesterday’s Today Show, I had to chuckle when I saw David Gregory (standing in for Matt Lauer) — assisting Martha Stewart in the preparation of a special Mother’s Day dish. French Toast – the perfect food for making your whole family fat — including your kids.
The ingredients included six eggs, 1.5 cups of whole milk, a syrupy liqueur, oil, light bread (not whole grain), maple syrup, butter and sugar…with a few fruits and nuts on top for decoration. My guess is that the meal derived over 50% of its calories from fat and had way too much animal protein and cholesterol. This meal would have scored in the No-Leaf range for sure on our 4-Leaf Program…with less than 20% of its calories from whole plant foods.
J. Morris Hicks, the "big picture" guy -- trying to be a constant beacon of clarity in an ocean of confusion
Like Dr. Oz, they make a big deal about a “fight childhood obesity” segment and follow it up with a special “family holiday meal” for Mother’s Day — the exact kind of meal that promotes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and stroke. These kinds of “mixed signals” are exactly what is keeping us sick and fat — but spending a ton of money on food and medical bills.
Our entire “system” of mainstream medicine, big food companies, academia, big pharma, the USDA, the FDA and the media is failing us. They are not making it clear what we should be eating to make us healthy. You see, when the aim is to make money — confusion works much better than clarity.
Huge problem to be sure — but it’s not going to be solved from the top down. It’s going to be solved by millions of people like you and me — learning the truth about nutrition, then making much better food choices for ourselves, for our families and for the planet. A link to the “Stop Childhood Obesity” website is shown below.
If you like what you see here, you may wish to join our periodic mailing list. Also, for help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4-Leaf page. From the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.
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—J. Morris Hicks…blogging daily at HealthyEatingHealthyWorld.com
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J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 
Yet another excellent article in the ongoing series by Mr Hicks. He is telling us the truth of these matters very clearly, and doing it in a way that is both interesting and compelling. No doubt people are being helped to change their lives for the better.
Food is definitely the main factor in childhood obesity. As a teacher, I see it everyday. The kids come into school, many of them after eating breakfast at home and eat it at school again, none of which is nutritional. They then are provided a snack, which consists of cereal, juice and cookies, again devoid of any nutritional value, and some of them even bring in their own snack to eat as well. Their snacks are always processed – cookies, chips, or candy.
In my twelve years of teaching, I have only seen a handful of kids bring in a piece of fruit! And then to lunch, which is served only about an hour after their snack. Lunch is usually pizza, macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets, more processed unhealthy food. They are constantly being fed, and being fed the wrong foods!
Now to the lunchboxes, which are packed with snacks, something kids, and their parents, think they need. Unless it is a fruit or vegetable, all snacks are highly processed and full of ingredients that you can barely read! Putting things into your child’s body that you can’t even identify or know are bad for them is a shame. Hopfully, America realizes your message soon or we are going to have an even sicker, more obese generation of kids. Look at the variety of cookies and candy in a supermarket – how can we not think food is our problem?