First lady relates obesity campaign to her own family's wake-up call
Article Source: msnbc.com
from:msnbc.comMichelle Obama worried about daughters' BMI
Seeded on Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:50 PM EST (msnbc.com)
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Why would she do that to her children? Throw them out to a hungry public for ridicule. Shame on her. I have never seen one photo of those lovely girls that would indicate that obesity would have ever been an issue. They both look very fit and healthy.
The lengths this woman won't go to to promote her own image. If she wants to hold someone up as an example she should challenge our Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin to putting her BMI in line. If you can reach the mothers it will trickle down to the children.
i agree, those kids look great to me, i feel bad for them that their mother has spoken about them like that, especially the older one is getting to that age where she will be sensitive about those sort of comments, if your kids have some bmi problems you shouldnt be broadcasting this to the world. plus bmi is a horrible indicator, for my height and build i would look anorexic if i went down the weight i should be
agreed . it's like setting her up for a bad self image of her body. Kids especially girls get enough of that via media.
The kids look great because they have a great Mom that cares for them.
Perhaps you feel ashamed of your own inability to care for yourself and your children that make you want to attack good parents.
She's setting them up for a lifetime of food issues by spreading her concerns about their weight all over the media. Those little girls are adorable and do not look even slightly obese. It's good to worry about what your children eat, to an extent, but obsessing about their food intake will make them obsess about their food intake.
Yeah, I agree. This is absurd. Neither of those kids are in any way close to being obese or having a BMI number that would suggest that. Looks like a ploy by mom to advance her new pet project.
I'm not a fan of Ms. Obama, but I think she was just trying to say "Hey, we all have to watch what our kids eat. Even I do." I don't think she was making her girls look bad. She was saying that she wasn't paying attention to what she was feeding them, but now she is. She's just pointing out that no one is perfect, including her.
No that wouldn't be it...See my daughter is 13, 5'0 and 90 pounds. She is athletic and trim. The problem I face is the myriad of other kids at her school with the very damaging habit of purging. Her first week of high school she walked into the bathroom to find girls performing this ritual after lunch. And has since had girls suggesting she could eat anything she wanted if she would do this too. Fortunately, my girl has me. There will be no intentional damaging of her body life is hard enough as it is to go that route.
As for my boys...they are 10 and just fine weight wise, if anything a bit on the stick kid side.
Wow, did you guys read the article? She didn't say her kids HAVE a weight problem. She said that in the past they were headed that way and the changes she made REVERSED the problem. Of course they look healthy and great. Their mother did what was necessary to keep them healthy. She's an example to us all.
If she cared about them that much she would have kept them out of the media spotlight. Just because Daddy was elected and Mommy loves promoting herself doesn't mean they had a choice in the matter. Let them be kids and have your personal chef fix more nutritioua meals for them just like the rest of us do...Oops, that's right I don't have a personal chef, I have to plan, shop and cook by own family meals
She's not an example to mothers, she's scarred her kids for life. Plus, it's real easy to change their eating habits when you have no 'real' food budget.
OMG I so agree with you. My daughters would kill me if they knew I informed the world that their BMIs were getting out of control. Talk about body image problems....these girls will be on the therapist's couch for years. Poor things!!!
I agree with txmom This isn't the sort of thing you should be sharing with the world. My girls would be humiliated if I announced publicly that they were getting a little chunky and I had to cut out the TV and give them more fruit.
I think your children would be more humiliated by being overweight.
Where were you guys when Palin announced to the world that her teenage daughter was pregnant?
Really? Having your child"s name all over the news would not be an embarrassment to them for ANY topic? I talked about my daughter to my family and friends... but, did NOT put her up to national scrutiny.
Sitting at home watching the news like everybody else and happy it did not happen to my daughter. You?
Whether admitting a (bad) choice your child has made or using your child to make a point... children should NOT be used in politics.
There kid's names are already all over the news....they have their own fan clubs...
When Palin threw her kid under the bus I was at home reading the blogs from all the "family values" crowd applauding how wonderful it is that those kids ruined their lives because neither had parents decent enough to teach them the value of education and birth control.
What fan clubs? The "National News Media Club" by any chance?
You need to find better rated "blogs" to read. Actually you and others threw Palin's daughter under the bus because of politics. Common sense and compassion for children should trump news from reading random blogs.
We are going to disagree I see on issues but, I apppreciate your candor.
LU..as much as you would like this to be it isn't an article about Sarah Palin or teen pregnancy. It is an article about the First Lady who has asked that her children remain off limits to the press. Who have respected this fact. But now she just throws them out for fodder and speculation at her own convenience.
Pretty sad. She owes them an apology.
Amen txmom32!
parents need to remember also ( as do doctors who tend to forget ) that children gain weight right before growth spurts. Especially boys. No kid needs to lose bone mass because of a growth spurt.
My nephew looked a bit like a pudge ! then he spurted 4 inches in a year ! this happened a few times until he hit 17 or so.
they will need extra calories and vitamins at certain points. If they need to eat let them eat ... ( within reason . Mickey D's doesn't help)
also look at yourself as a kid .. it's a good barometer.
Does it bother anybody else that these people are so anxious to tell us what to do, or that they know so much more than we do about something? As soon as the government or anybody else starts paying our health insurance premiums for us, they will immediately think they can tell us what to eat and drink and what not to. Nothing comes for free. We'll pay for it one way or another.
40% of Americans are obese.
We have a generation of children that are obese before they are old enough to attend school.
So yea, it looks like people do need to be told how to feed their children because for some reason they can't figure it out themselves.
Kenny Right you are and if my insurance is taxed to pay for others to get medical care I will absolutely be loud and proud when I see obese mommy feeding obese Little Johnny or Jenny fat laden foods. I learned that from the Blue Hairs of Britain. If you are financially supporting others you can say anything you want.
If you read the article carefully, she wasn't saying anything to embarrass her daughters. She said her Pediatrician made her realize she needed to watch what her daughters were doing. So she started feeding them other foods and encouraging exercise , she never said they were obese or even getting that way.
Sheesh! She can't do anything right, to some people! She is just trying to get other mothers to relate by telling how she started making life healthier for her daughters, and why.
I'm sure most of them are obese and have obese children.
Or they are just towing that party line....I really don't know what's more embarrassing...
Funny thing LU I took my annual physical the other day and my BMI was 22.9 with body fat at 29% at 5' 3 1/2 inches tall and 131 pounds, not bad for a 46 year old woman...and yours?
So if the First Lady is so committed to health and number identification why wasn't she up there encouraging mothers to be the example to their children and spouting her own numbers?
So you're just towing the party line...how sad it that...
Well if taking responsibility for myself and my family is towing the party line I suppose I am. As an educated and concerned parent I involve myself in the health, education and well being of my children. I prefer to prepare food at home where I know it will provide positive food value rather than cruise through fast food for convenience. I would rather provide opportunity for my children to run and play or participate in organized sports than to restrict them to latchkey status. I would prefer to foster a mentally positive lifestyle where they can feel confident in everything from their school work to their body image to their personal self awareness and positive goals. My children are 13, 10 and 10....I am involved in their lives and development as a mother should be, they are my responsibility not the Governments.
Then why are you attacking another mother for also caring for her children?
She isn't just another mother she is the First Lady of the United States who has called for the media to lay off her kids. That I respect. For her to offer up their personal information to further her own agenda at the expense of her kids....I find that disingenuous and disgusting.
www.cdc.gov/.../bmi/childrens_BMI/about_childrens_BMI.html -
Proper information that could actually benefit the population with regard to children and health issues. The CDC as well as other sites have some useful information to inform parents without needing to specify individuals.
The information provided by the CDC indicates that a child listed on a growth chart can be considered obese if they are above 85 percentile on the chart. Please feel free to show me a picture of these girls that would ever indicate that there were at or near that point in the range.
I think the first lady has probably always taken care of her children. I'm guessing she fudged and feigned concern where there probably was never any reason to believe she allowed excess in poor food quality in her home.
I do hope that she apologizes to her girls for putting them out there as if they feel it would please mommy to be thin they might just do that the wrong way.
The problem I face is the myriad of other kids at her school with the very damaging habit of purging. Her first week of high school she walked into the bathroom to find girls performing this ritual after lunch.
If that was my kid I wouldn't be critizing other mothers.
What LU...You think I should criticize my daughter for coming home and telling me what was going on in school? No way I like that she will ask me about things other people do so we can discuss the ramifications. We discussed what tremendous damage these girls were doing to their bodies, organs that can be permanently damaged even death. I called the school and notified them of what was going on in the girls bathroom. Are you kidding...I have a lot of criticism for any mother or any woman that would promote damaging behavior or unhealthy habits for their children.
I think that the First Lady should have followed her own standards for the media and kept her daughters out of this.
txmom - just wait until your kids have activities until 8 or 10 pm on school nights, and you can't control what they eat, because they are out of your sight. Then your little world will be different.
jmk....I truly hope that they will have enough respect for themselves to shed what they have learned. Of course there will be issues of one sort or another but, the point is I am teaching them to grow up to be responsible people first and foremost. Childhood is a time to learn, teen years are full of mistakes but if they can grow to be college age and avoid the pressure of bad choices I have done my job. This premise goes well beyond food choices.
I've been saying it for a long time: Eventually, some busy body is going to make it illegal to be overweight. This kind of "news" will probably embarrass the Obama children so much they'll go anorexic. Give it a break. If you are serious about helping your children, do it privately and with love. Public exposure and humiliation will surely backfire.
The majority of Americans are overweight and unhealthy, so are their children. This is a ridiculous situation that needs to change. People need to wake up.
I'm assuming she just wants to use her own family as example of what small changes they made that made a difference. But unfortunately many people will not listen.
I love the "there's nothing wrong with her children" response.
Yea, it's because she takes care of them!!
Oh Hell! Who gives a flying $h!t what this bimbo says, does, or thinks? Oh . . . it's the libtards. They're so freakin' stupid God can't even help them.
pretty weak god you believe in, and stupid
Leave it to MSNBC to classify someting like this as "news". Oh, and by the way, those girls look just fine.
who cares about the bmi, they are kids. i sure as crap don't take my kid to the doctor when he does not want to be out side when it is 90degrees outside. They still have a lot of growing up to do, let them be kids. heck our parents let us be kids, but yes we didn't have video games to play eithor. Be the parent who loves your kids for who they are and not make weight the issue. remember, you can not change someone who may not want change.
One thing about all of the BMI charts...they are only accurate for the people who are "average" height...For example my husband is 6'6" tall and according to all of the BMI charts he should weigh 175-180 lbs which at 220lbs with low-normal blood pressure and excellent cholesterol, he is 50 lbs overwight. When he was in HS and playing basketball and had bones sticking out he weighed 195 and that was 4+ years ago. So take the info with a grain of salt, exercise, eat right and consult with your own doctor...And tell the government to stay the H out of healthcare.
Poor girls! No such thing as patient privacy when mom is a loud mouth!
What about "momma michelle's BMI?"
She has a MASSIVE backside and THUNDER Thighs to match?
But she'd rather put the spotlight on her girls? Way to go mom!
Here's an idea: Set an example for your kids?
Let's see a picture of bigbutt Michele in a pair of tight shorts???
Oops! That's a picture America is NEVER shown? I wonder why?
Just have that camera show pictures of Michelle from the waist up, but mostly just "head shots?"
Other shots can be of her sitting down?
Or, we can discuss "her sleeveless look?"
But, other, more revealing photos? Mmmm, NO!
Oh yeah... uh, hey, let's focus on the young girls and mention "how concerned Michelle is about THEM?"
Another "drummed up excuse for her to appear in public" and at the expense of her daughters' personal sel-images? Unfreakin believable!
Way to go mom!
Bottles of water in the lunch boxes.....................Oh, how sweet. Keep your kids thin, Mrs. O, but screw the environment.
Did it occur to you that Michelle Obama might put tap water in reusable bottles? That's what our family does -- it creates no garbage at all.
Please Some of you are ridiculous. You are criticizing Mrs. Obama for taking control of the eating habits and health of her daughters, on the advice of their Dr? How asinine can you get? She by doing this, is saving or prolonging them from becoming Type 2 Diabetics, Hypertensive and a host of other chronic diseases that are weight related. Would you rather she allow them to stuff themselves with chips, colas and ice cream? You are some of the most ridiculous sore losers I am ever seen. I say, "You go Michelle, and by doing what you've done, maybe some of these lazy Moms who won't take steps to help their children have healthy bodies, just might get a glimpse of what a responsible parent does." Amazing bunch of naysayers.
Lynn...No we are criticizing the fact that she is using her own children to further her agenda when it appears there is no issue to abuse.
The psychological effects on young girls when it comes to weight and body image can be damaging. Why would she do this to her own daughters when they have been off limits for scrutiny? I agree with the off limits for scrutiny by the way. They are in enough of a fish bowl as they come and go with photographers. Why would the first lady throw body image into the mix when they are still growing and developing? What is going to be written if they younger girl hits that gawky age and is not the picture of slim perfection? For that fact what is Michelle going to say and do to the child to maintain a public image?
They should have never been the example.
txmom, so you were just as livid with Mrs. Bush for talking about her daughters when she promoted reading as her pet project? Every first lady has a pet project and talks proudly about her family's inspiration for it.
It's nice that you are so concerned about the her daughters' self-esteem, but I'm sure you'd be offended if someone else told you how to raise your daughters and what to say about them. Actually, I already know from your posts how much your daughter weighs at 13 and how tall she is.
icstars...what did Mrs. Bush have to say about her daughters and reading? I know they appreciate the value of education and reading particularly the one that is a teacher and author. I suppose where M. Obama is concerned maybe she will dodge a bullet and she won't end up with a bulimic or anorexic. There is a bit of a difference between the two "pet" projects. God willing they will grow up to appreciate healthy lifestyles and reflect that in their daily lives.
Honestly, is Michelle using her own BMI as a promotion to mothers to mirror good habits for their daughters. I would imagine hers would be in line with a healthy measure.
txmom32
You are one of the pettiest people on these vines.
bajangirl53...Why would you say that. I am just discussing a topic that I am passionate about....The fact that girls in American Society can also take food issues and turn them into traumatic health issues.
In America we seem to place too high a value on young girls to fit a mold. The fact of the matter is many who will never biologically achieve that thin and willowy image will go too far and damage their bodies forever or die. This is as well an issue for young men. The fact that a "healthy lifestyle" is both mental and physical.
Anorexia and Bulimia are truly issues in our country. What the First Lady didn't mention was there are actually two benchmarks for BMI... It does not only serve to determine obesity but also children who are not thriving. It seems very easy to believe that simply promoting healthy eating habits will cure the country's ills but without proper information, and including the other end of the spectrum, simply collecting kudos for a project to shrink the size of the overweight in this country is not the full picture.
If she wishes to truly make a difference beyond increasing the grocery entitlements she needs to discuss the whole picture. What a Body Mass Index actually tells people. Because it will serve no purpose to have young girls and boys not getting the whole message rather deciding to take short cuts.
I still think she should have used her own BMI in a discussion with mothers and custodians because they are the gate keepers to their children.
It's a shame that the wife of the president would use her children in such a way. The oldest may begin to have some very humiliating and embarrassing issues due to her loving Mother. Of course I don't know if the girls will get laughed at and teased at school, they may not allow the other students to be critical of them. I'm sure Michelle means well, but she needs to stop and think before opening her mouth.
Lao, I am sure those girls would much rather people quit lying and talking bad about their parents, than being emotionally traumatized by her telling this to help America's children. You all are just nuts!!!
Lao Tzu...It isn't the school that is the concern. They go to school with children who's parents are beholden to the President in one way or another. The dynamic of school when power brokers are involved is not typical of mainstream society.
It is mainstream society that needs to be considered. Mama Michelle needs to be talking to the mothers of American children, not just African American or Hispanic mothers but all because in a family they are the pivot to all things emotional and physical.
I don't see what all the fuss is about, The FDA is getting ready to straighten everything out. No one will have to worry anymore about getting fat once our tax dollars are spent to come up with a new way to label the packages on what you eat. THE CURE IS COMING !!!!
This just proves that some people will criticize the President and First Lady no matter what they do. Promoting healthy eating habits and trying to help children avoid obesity--how, um, horrible.
Get a grip, people!
Black females especially
Black females especially in the large cities are far too overweight. Their metabolisms cannot handle fast food and it shows. It's too bad. I knew a lot of very pretty black girls who weigh probably 200-250 right now and none are taller than 5' 8". I'm not being racist but speaking more from bodily capabilities and function.
So she is worried about her daughter's Bowel Movement Intensity (BMI)?
I think Mrs. Obama is to be commended for having the honesty to discuss her children's weight issues in public. This is exactly the type of honesty that is needed, and to all of you mother's that are afraid to be honest with your children and are so worried what other people will think, wait until your daughters are obese during their teenage years and develop self esteem issues, you will wish you had the courage to address it then. GREAT JOB Mrs. Obama! please keep this type of open and honest dialogue going!
This article is nonsense. Leave it to Democrats to need (and want) the government to tell us if we are overweight and what we should eat. BMI is a useless tool since it only uses height and weight with no regard to lean muscle tissue. The results will invariably indicate that a person is slightly overweight when they are not or not in any way that would affect their longevity. The BMI creates more hysteria among adolescents, especially girls, than anything else. If you really want to know if you are overweight, simply do the Special K "pinch an inch" test. Or better yet, if you have enough money, invest in one of those hi-tech devices called -- a MIRROR!
I can see Michelle Obama bringing up the BMI issue to emphasize a point. What I can't see is her using her own daughter's BMI stats to emphasize that point. Now the media will scrutinize the kids even more for weight issues because of what she's said. And we all know how the media distorts things to make them sound worse. Girls in today's world are very sensitive to what's said about them and the more they're brought to light by the media, the worse they will feel. Michelle did the wrong thing by bringing her daughters into the limelight. She meant well, I'm sure. But utilizing the media to put pressure on her own daughters and their self images, well that's just plain wrong. Maybe Michelle should have just focused on her own agenda and utilized the available stats that are already out there. And, yes, the stats are out there for a reason. Bad choice Michelle.