[Enjoymmsq]

Is it okay to talk about your daughters’ weight if it’s for the national good? - Parenting on Shine

[irrascaft]

Two weeks after announcing the unnerving news that childhood obesity has tripled over the last 30 years, and unveiling her own initiative to combat it, Michelle Obama has offended critics by discussing her own “wake-up” moment—when the family pediatrician told her that daughters Sasha and Malia were becoming overweight.


“In my eyes I thought my children were perfect,” Mrs. Obama said at the January launch of her initiative. “I didn’t see the changes.”

While innocuous to some, this comment has set off both valid and not-so-valid criticism in the blogosphere—everything from calling the first lady well-intentioned-but-misguided to hinting that she could be tipping off her daughters’ future eating disorders. Even with one-third of American children classified as overweight or obese, several critics are far more concerned with Michelle Obama’s anecdotal use of her daughters.


Jeanne Sager, a writer for Strollerderby who admits to reading “everything through eating-disorder glasses” says she feels worried for the girls because their mother has “taken an extremely touchy subject out into the open.”


She goes on to say, “On the brink of teenagehood, Malia Obama is at an especially precarious position. With a naturally changing body, the idea that she has to face the world debating her fat puts her at higher risk for an eating disorder.”


In a post that delineates the difference between what is accepted in “the eating disorder world” vs. "the outside world," Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh of the Huffington Post writes, “I am sucker-punched to read that our First Family put their daughters on a 'diet' because they feared 'obesity' and no doubt will be lauded for it…This is not an eating disorder issue, however, and it should not be only us who know this and speak out about it. These are medical, social, and ultimately self-defeating errors in thinking that do harm to all children and all of us. I am very sad today.”


Jezebel brings up the fair point (via Fox News Channel contributor Michelle Malkin) that perhaps in “revealing that her children have had weight issues too” Michelle Obama is “exposing her children to scrutiny at an early age.” Judging from the over-scrutinized lives of other White House daughters—from Amy Carter to Chelsea Clinton to the Bush twins—that’s one fate the Obamas might want to avoid whenever possible.


Mrs. Obama also sat down for a revealing interview on “The Today Show” (see clip below), where she talked about keeping Sasha and Malia grounded, finding time for dinner, and handling the pressures of being a style icon.

Is it okay to talk about your daughters’ weight if it’s for the national good? - Parenting on Shine

[saturninus.ribb]

I'd like to know how "overweight" they're becoming. The media's ideals about weight and obesity are stretched far beyond the boundaries of normalcy.

[Irrampbroow]

I tell ya what, they are definitely obese, i mean look at these little piggies. ugh more lime-light for the first lady...

[awagsFare]

i did multitudes of google searches and i can not find a picture of them where they are little porkers.

[Immarsecice]

the fucking older one looks almost anorexic.

[somozasayre]

WTF is the point of that article? it seems like nobody thinks she should have made the comment about her kids. why not? they are her kids, if they might be getting a smidge fat then that should concern her. as far as im concerned she was just making a comment just about any other parent would have made, some parents just dont notice.

also WTF is the point of the people they quoted in the article? that we shouldnt discuss our kids possibly becoming fat, that some how it's wrong to talk about it at all. wanting to spare someone's feelings by not talking about them getting fat isnt doing them any favors. HOW you talk to them and about it is the concern. nobody wants to be told they're fat but guess what? THERE ARE A LOT OF FAT PEOPLE! if you cant handle being told you're fat no matter how nicely its said you have a problem.

you cant handle a situation if you use a hands off approach. "hey let's all look at the elephant in the room but let's not discuss it. let's not mention we see it, let's not discuss anything about it." cuz someone might get their feelings hurt. boohoo!

i see nothing wrong with what she said. she didnt say anything mean, she only mentioned her kids in passing, she was mostly talking about herself in the quote how she hadnt noticed. i know eating disorders are a serious problem but not talking about it could lead to eating disorders also.

people in this country have this awful habit of not wanting to discuss things and those things happen to be the very ones we're having problems with. like issues about race. because we seemingly are not allowed to discuss that subject freely and we still have lots of problems with it. kids are becoming more and more unruly and nobody wants to talk about it. it might hurt johnny's feelings. same with their education. let's not give johnny an F that will hurt his feelings and we dont want him to feel bad he failed, so we'll give him another letter so he doesnt have to feel like he should work harder and do better next time.

the commonality? each revolves around this idea that discussing (insert name of subject here) will hurt someone's feelings and that takes precedence over actually doing something about these problem. there is a lot of denial going on in this country and it's bullshit.

and people wonder why the country is in the condition it's in. but they wont want to discuss that either.

[Saispapedlimi]

It could be the rate that they are gaining weight could put them at risk for becoming overweight.

the fucking older one looks almost anorexic.

No she doesn't.

[BodeOmissemia]

There was a similiar controversy when Obama revealed a bad grade his daughter had earned in order to demonstrate that parents should take a more active role in the education of their children.

[shumozar]

wow you and dana think alike, you're practically the same person making this thread lol

[Piediahef]

the fucking older one looks almost anorexic.

no she doesn't

[Soypopetype]

Whatever. These kids aren't fat at all and I find it disgusting it was said.

[sarasmid]

It never said that they were fat. Just that they were becoming overweight. Two very different things.

[UTHZzJ6f]

I can't see them "becoming" overweight either.... they're pencil thin.

[YabbaIn]

ummm...they aren't even pencil thin.

[Kubasarika]

they look fine to me :/

[P9CCd35R]

I can't see them "becoming" overweight either.... they're pencil thin.

If they had suddenly gained a bunch of weight (which, for a child, isn't all that much), it could get a doctor concern about their diet and exercise. Yeah, it might be perfectly normal for them but at the same time, with the rates of obesity and in particular childhood obesity, it's better for them to have healthy habits before there's any problem. And it doesn't have to be address as "You're getting fat, you're going on a diet" but "We're all going to start eating healthy and exercising to make sure we stay healthy."

I wouldn't call them pencil thin but slim.

[RobertLS]

ummm...they aren't even pencil thin.

Well if you say they're fat I'm going to groan and roll my eyes....

I wouldn't call them pencil thin but slim.

maybe I used the wrong term but I mean't slim.

[Blaxastij]

Well if you say they're fat I'm going to groan and roll my eyes....






maybe I used the wrong term but I mean't slim.

ummm they look normal? they're fucken kids, and they don't have to be 250lbs AND they look healthy.