Ok, here's some more of my random thoughts of the American nutrition wars....things that really bug me. Let's start with the government. They use the "Food Pyramind" and tell us what is "good for us". Our schools are supposed to make meals that prescribe to this notion. I no longer have a child in school, but if I did he would definately be packing his own lunch! I've been in a few school cafeterias in recents years and the lunches are...well, tragic, for lack of a better word. The school now prohibits the sale and consumption of sodas....good call. However, they have no problem handing out chocolate milk.....a fat laden, sugary glitch! What sense does that make. Lets look at the other items on the menu: buttered grilled cheese sandwich, fruit coctail, fried "tater tots", and a peice of frosted cake. Wow, how nutritious! Yeah, right! If we use our imagination, we can actually assign those things to the basic food groups and comply with the government standard.

I read a startling statistic.....25% of today's kids are clinically obese! That's scary. A decade ago, only 4% were. I have theories on this too. The parents themselves is where most of the blame lies. For one thing, today's working parents don't prepare meals like they used to. Parents themselves mostly grew up eating in the microwave, ready-to-eat, fabricated food generation. That's all they know, so they pollute their children with this crap as well. There's little discipline at home regarding food these days: Mom doesn't make Johnny eat his veggies because she thinks most of them "suck" too. Also, when Johnny is at Walmart and grabs a big bag of Snickers, she doesn't make him put it back. Often, she doesn't spend enough time with the kids because both parents work. She makes up for this by letting them have whatever they want....not realizing that's why she does it. I've seen kids who drink nothing but Pepsi and Mountain Dew.....like they have a constant sugar "I.V" going into their veins. It's just downright tragic. Then of course, there's television advertising. Kids are bombarded with ads for cereals featuring Disney and Star Wars characters.....sugar in different shapes. They add vitamins to these things so they can call them "nutritious". I saw a kid one day putting chocolate milk on Fruit Loops....un-friggin'-believable!!

Then there's the other extreme: Parents who find an eating lifestyle that suits them and then FORCE it on their children. I think that's terrible! I'm 42 years old and have been, as stated in another thread, on a low-fat (10% or so calories from fat) for most of my adult years....it seems to suit me and all of my growing and development years are well behind me. BUT, I would never allow a child to eat in this manner! I think that more fats in the diet are essential in a child's development. By the same token, I would not allow a child to pursue a Low-Carb diet either. Carbs are essential for the exercise and acedemic activities of daily life for a child. I would prescribe a traditional balanced diet, not low fat, not low carb, but I diet consisting of real, quality food and a minimum of junk.

Academically, our kids have dropped to something like 13th in education among developed nations. Do you think that has something to do with their physical well being, or lack thereof? I sure do! These kids are the future of this country.....and we're handicapping them with poor health by what we feed them. I wish more people would realize this and do something about it before it gets totally out of control.