Not to mention the ‘regulations’ can go wrong so easily. For example, the regulation that milk has to be in schools–but provide a choice between regular milk and flavored. Obviously the children are going to choose flavored milk. The fact that milk shouldn’t even be consumed after infancy is besides the point.

Has anyone seen the new Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver games for the Nintendo DS? It comes with a little add-on called the “Pokewalker.” Basically it’s a pedometer, and you can put one of your Pokemon “inside” of it. With every step you take, the Pokemon gains an experience point. If you walk enough, the Pokemon will gain a level. I thought this was an extremely creative way to encourage physical activity among the video gaming set.

“My concern is what will be mandated. Recently a grade school child was suspended from school for accepting a piece of candy from another child at lunch. The school believes the government mandates punishment for the slightest deviation from the prescribed diet. So will our kids be punished for eating something legal? Will our kids be taken away from us if we are deemed to be bad parents for letting them eat coco puffs?”

Can it be any worse that what is already mandated in schools? Have you eaten a school lunch lately? I have, and it’s not pretty.

“In my experience the only way to get an obese person to a normal weight is with a starvation diet. If this is unacceptable as an interrogation method to save lives why would it be acceptable to inflict on children? Does anyone really think posting calorie counts of food will make you slim? “

Starvation, sure, if you’re used to eating 3,000 to 4,000 calories a day. It’s easy to do if you depend on convenience foods and sugary drinks. Education in key here, in knowing that as a woman I only need 2,000 calories (or fewer!) a day. When you eat out, do you know how many calories you’re getting? Probably not. People need to know their one meal is often at least half the calories you need for a day, and quite often all you need. IN ONE MEAL. A meal that isn’t filling, and will leave you hungry for a snack in a couple of hours. If a person fills up on fruits and vegetables, lean protein, healthy fats, and real whole grains, they can feast all day long for very few calories.

“Will skinny kids be allowed to eat what they want or must they be punished too for the common good? Who decides what food is good?”

“At one time or another every food group has been deemed bad. So is it OK to eat margarine a saturated fat usually containing transfats? If so why? If not, then what? Most of what we think we know about healthy food is based on conjecture and mythology. “

And yet you espouse traditional diets from other cultures? Make up your mind, are traditional diets good or bad?

“According to the food Nazis Americans have the worst diets on the planet and yet our life expectancy grows every year. In most of the countries where traditional diets are still practiced their life expectancy is half of ours.”

Of course we have one of the worst diets, it’s all about the convenience foods. We don’t eat much that is fresh anymore because—gasp!—you would have to cook. What does increase our life expectancy is our health care and amazing range of pharmeceuticals to cure whatever obesity-induced issues ail us.

“Obesity tends to be more prevalent in certain races will these new diet requirements be racial profiling? As these racial groups continue to grow as a percentage of Americans can we all expect more punishment until we are all the correct weight? Explain why the food Czars are not elling us about the obesity paradox, i.e. in all age groups those people who have a higher then ideal BMI live longer and healthier lives then people with a lower then ideal BMI. In fact the most healthy BMI is 27.5 not 24.9 as we have been told. Are the food Nazis covering this up or will they openly discuss this little “problem”.”

BMI is not the end all, be all of measures of health. Body composition comes into play here, and often a very fit person with low body fat will have a BMI outside the normal range. You will find very healthy people outside the BMI range; and unhealthy people inside of it. It depends greatly on lifestyle and diet choices.

Is it any wonder we are wallowing in confusion due to lack of basic nutrition knowledge?