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Photo: Whitehouse.gov
It's no secret that President Obama loves his fast food, especially burgers -- but did you know that the First Lady enjoys it even more than he does?
During her first-ever live web chat this morning, Michelle Obama told AOL readers that "one of the reasons why he and I don't shy away from fast food at all is because we want our kids to know the balance, that healthy eating is about finding the balance. It's not about saying no to ice cream or French fries and the things people love because no one could sustain that. We talk about them as special treats."
Check out the entire 30-minute clip (this fast-food bit starts at 7:09) after the jump.
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7-25-2010 @5:41AM A. Moore said... My Mom always told me, it's okay to have a slice of cake, just not four or five slices, and not everyday. You don't have to cut out all the so call good stuff, just cut back, add vegatables, cut down on the sweet and fried food. I like to cook alot of my food in the oven. If I were to have a burger and fries, it will be some time before I have it again. So I get what she is saying, and to me the main thing is to exercise.
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7-14-2010 @1:01PM Sarah W. said... "No one can sustain that?" Um, just don't go to fast food places. It's not that hard.
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7-14-2010 @1:58PM tracy said... By "sustain that" I think she meant continually eating fast food for the majority of your diet and that is unsustainable 'cause it'll kill you ;)
7-14-2010 @1:12PM Adriana said... Telling your kids that the foods that are bad for you are actually "special treats" reinforces the idea that junk food is the food to love, while healthy food is just what your parents make you eat. Why not instead show your kids how much you enjoy delicious, healthy foods?
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7-14-2010 @7:01PM Melissa said... Completely agree with this point. I was appalled at the end of the year when my son's school took his kindergarten class to McDonald's for a "special treat" and I made precisely your point. Fortunately, my son turned it down and instead had a "very happy meal" that we created from home.
We don't shy away from burgers and fries, it's the meat that's served at McDonald's that we find problematic because of the way the conventional livestock industry raises its meat, propped up by antibiotics - a practice that's creating virulent bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics. I wrote about my own personal sea change issue not too long ago here on my blog www.littlelocavores.blogspot.com/2010/04/morality-of-meat.html
7-15-2010 @8:35PM Jason said... Obesity in this country is one of the worst epidemics that plague American society. Yet, we have our first lady endorsing the fast food industry just like her husband has. I understand that she may have a personal trainer to help offset the junk, but not everybody does. The reason people eat fast food in the first place is because it is cheap because government subsidies for the corn industry are astronomical. I think before you have a webcast, you need to rethink your approach since you are in charge of a program to fight childhood obesity!
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7-14-2010 @2:07PM mike said... There are no redeeming qualities to fast food. From inhumane production through the waste cycle they create while making us fat. I love you Michelle, but the special treat is so wrong on every level. Children need to be educated about the whole toxic corrupt cycle of high fat and salt foods that are more drugs than food to our bodies. The manufacturers know it and have designed foods for their addictive eating qualities.
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7-26-2010 @11:14AM Jeanne Stepanova said... I totally agree with you. I think that you should eat all the healthy food that you want, and that there are healthy "treat" foods. However, I do not consider industrial "food" actual food, and therefore, it is not in my family's diet. Industrially produced food is nonfood and supporting this industry at all is a slam to the environment, to the animals that suffer in factory farms, and to good sense. I am really sick of the Obama's trying to be everything to everyone. What they should be doing is reforming the farm bill, urging Americans to steer clear of the industrial food energy for the environment and for their health. I find plenty of treat foods among real foods I eat and feed my family: organic ice creams made from local, grass-fed cows, grass-fed beef hamburgers and hotdogs, organic white breads, fried free range chicken and sustainably raised and caught fish, free-trade chocolates...Yeah, I think Michelle Obama needs to adjust her values.
7-14-2010 @10:25PM BC said... I wouldn't eat them at fast food joints, but things like ice cream and red meat are totally special treats to a majority of people and most folks can't abstain completely - which isn't a crime. Overindulgence is the crime.
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7-14-2010 @4:21PM Stacy Stevenson said... I think this is correct and essentially good advise. Mrs Obama isn't advocating fast food chains per se, only fast food types of food. Unfortunately we live in a society with a lot of choices that are not good for us and sometimes scientifically formulated to stimulate our brains in a pleasurable way that compels us to seek these unhealthy choices out. Our human nature is to be drawn to things we struggle against. I believe the best way to avoid or weed out these unhealthy choices is to crowd them out with healthy choices. Add in vs. forbid. It is more natural to the way we live and think.
The best way to teach people to make good decisions about their nutrition is to teach them to be aware of how they feel after they eat each choice. The choice is clear. Even to my 5 year old.
Sometimes a little sugar rush from a bowl of ice cream is worth it and is perfectly fine when balanced with a healthy diet.
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7-14-2010 @4:50PM Jack said... "why he and I don't shy away from fast food at all is because we want our kids to know the balance, that healthy eating is about finding the balance."
Ugh! This is so wrong. There is no "finding the balance" with fast food. She's just making a very poor rationalizing. TOTAL FAIL, Mrs. Obama.
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7-14-2010 @5:12PM Alan said... Some example the obesity queen is setting.
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7-15-2010 @12:15PM marlena said... It may be easy to keep yourself from eating fast food as an adult, but it's true that kids will ask for the stuff (in large part due to advertising which is another whole issue...). I think this approach is more realistic. If you freak out your children and tell them that fast food is gross or full of poison/chemicals, that is too extreme. More important than them eating a burger or some fries once in a while, is the whole lesson of moderation you are teaching them so they can be healthy adults later in life. You can't control every morsel that goes into their mouths, what if they are presented with McDonald's as their only option and they start to cry or go hungry? It's never good to be too extreme about anything including food. My parents used to take us to Wendy's on road trips and we all loved it as kids. We are all obsessively healthy adults who wouldn't touch the stuff now with a 10-foot pole. Occasional consumption won't ruin your life. Plus, there is a cultural aspect to this - you don't want your kids to be the odd ones who never watched TV or ate fries. Like it or not, it's a shared part of our culture in 2010.
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7-16-2010 @12:36AM Tiffany Wright, Ph.D., LA Skinny Coach said... Some people can not moderate of find balance. If you are a compulsive overeater, binge eater or food addict you can moderate so abstaining is really the only answer. Abstaining from sugar and flour, in particular as those foods have been found to produce the addictive response in food addicts. I am so tired of people saying that you can't expect to sustain giving up things that are bad for you. No one tells an alcoholic that they can't sustain a lifestyle free of booze. I don't think that the Obamas are food addicts and so I think it is a reasonable family choice to indulge in their favorite "poison" but not everyone has the ability to handle occasional indulgences.
Tiffany Wright, Ph.D.
www.elementayou.com
7-20-2010 @7:09PM Andrea said... I was so glad to see Ms. Obama take on the issue of obesity and healthy kids. But if I had kids, I would never let them eat fast food. Fast food chains are problematic not just because of the unhealthy foods they serve to kids and adults, but also because of the inhumane treatment of the animals raised and killed on factory farms, the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture, the exploitation of the farm workers and restaurant workers (who are often illegal immigrants), the impact of fast food chains on locally owned family-run establishments, and urban sprawl. Kids deserve treats every now and then, but treats can be healthy foods too, like fresh fruit and home-baked goods. They don't have to be the disgustingly greasy and sugary foods found at fast food places.
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7-21-2010 @6:55AM Lisa said... People, she is the first lady - she is trying not to alienate anyone - she can't say publicly that she won't feed her kids fast food = then she'll get in trouble with taco bell and mcdonalds , etc.... she has to be diplomatic when she speaks... read between the lines... she is advocating for a healthier diet for children. It's a good message.
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