One more bit of today's news for moms:
President Clinton -- who's been leading an effort to fight childhood obesity -- got five major snack food companies (Kraft, Campbell's, Pepsi/FritoLay, Dannon and Mars) to agree to reduce salt, sugar and fat in snack foods sold in schools.
This is the same group that brokered a deal last spring to take most soft drinks out of schools.
Interestingly, the snack food industry isn't fully on board. Some companies think the guidelines aren't fair. For example, some potato chips are OK, but pretzels, generally considered healthier, are not because they exceed the Clinton group's sodium limit. The industry also says the problem isn't just junk food content -- it's the fact that kids sit in front of TV for hours on end eating super-sized portions instead of just one serving.
The so-called food police think it'll be ineffective because the people who actually stock school vending machines -- schools and distributors -- aren't part of the deal. So they can put whatever they want in vending machines, bypassing the new healthier baked chips for the same old fat-laden munchies that sell.
A funny note from the announcement:
President Clinton -- who in 2004 had heart bypass surgery to clear arteries that were 90 percent blocked by with plaque -- claimed that even though he was an overweight kid, he never touched the vending machine at his high school.
Uh huh.
He did admit to sneaking some of Chelsea's Halloween candy. Apparently he likes caramel (me too!)
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2 comments:
It's hard to know how much of celebrity "obesity bashing" isn't an attempt to get press. This is nothing more than micromanagement of a massive problem that begins squarely at home with all of us. I see this in the academic research realm ... everyone wants a piece of the obesity epidemic and almost all of it is handwaving to get money or attention. Until families begin more serious restriction of their intake and undertake serious increase in caloric expenditure, the epidemic will be with us.
Bryan, you bring up an interesting point about the "money grab." Being in the research field, you probably have a unique perspective on that. Clearly choice is a big part of this. I'm a big proponent of taking personal responsibility. But I think it goes beyond that. I'm trying to teach my kids to make healthy food choices, but when they go to school, the lunch choices are a hamburger and fries or (believe or not) french toast sticks And popsickles! Not a fruit or vegetable in sight some days --so no healthy choice there. At restaurants, it's almost impossible to find a vegetable on the kids menu. Try chicken fingers or Mac 'N cheese (as the main dish - in fact, the ONLY dish.)
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