First lady talks about watching daughters' weight after getting a BMI warning

[undeterred]

First lady talks about watching daughters' weight after getting a BMI warning

NANCY BENAC
Associated Press Writer
January 28, 2010 | 2:44 p.m.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — First lady Michelle Obama framed her national campaign against childhood obesity in intensely personal terms Thursday, relating that her own daughters were starting to get off-track before the family's pediatrician gave her a wake-up call and warned her to watch it.

"In my eyes, I thought my children were perfect," the first lady said. "I didn't see the changes."
But the family's pediatrician, she said, kept a close eye on trends in African-American children and "warned that he was concerned that something was getting off-balance." The doctor "cautioned me that I had to take a look at my own children's BMI," or body mass index, the first lady said.

Mrs. Obama said parents often recognize that kids in general don't eat right and aren't exercising enough, but "we always think that only happens to someone else's kids, and I was in that position." "Even though I wasn't exactly sure at that time what I was supposed to do with this information about my children's BMI, I knew that I had to do something," she said. "I had to lead our family to a different way."

The first lady said that over the next few months she made some small changes that got her daughters back on track. No more weekday TV. More attention to portion sizes. Low-fat milk. Water bottles in the lunch boxes. Grapes on the breakfast table. Apple slices at lunch. Colorful vegetables on the dinner table.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-michelle-obama-obesity,0,142971.story

[CreekDog]

1. My mother is the same way

No filter. :rofl:

[geckosfeet]

2. IMO low carb is the way to go. eom

[Qutzupalotl]

4. Maybe they can purchase carb offsets. eom

[Zoeisright]

3. Well, while this is good, children often put on weight before a growth spurt.

And make sure that you aren't letting children, especially girls, think that being overweight is disgusting. That's a great way to start eating disorders.

[undeterred]

Their girls look good and Michelle does too.

I wonder if she made the changes to their diet without telling them the reasons for it.

[moc]

6. Just talking about this last week in a class I teach. It's a difficult balance.

I have a 13yo daughter who has always tracked at the 95% for height and weight. Her BMI falls into the "at risk" category. I also got "the talk" from her pediatrician when she was 5. I struggled with how to instill healthy habits yet also support the development of a healthy self esteem and pride in the body God gave her. As most pre-pubescent girls do, she got a little pudgy right before menarche, and I made a conscious effort never to focus on weight loss but focus on healthy choices and encouraging participation in physical activity. She's through that whole puberty growth spurt thing, and I think (hope) her body image is positive. As a mom, I still worry though. Eating disorders and more broadly women/girls who hate their bodies is rampant in our society.

[CTyankee]

8. I told my daughter that her daughter would be getting slimmed down at menarche and sure enought!

She is now a slim person! My granddaughter has learned to regulate her foods well and all of my 3 granddaughters are very active physically. So far so good. It's working!

[Vincardog]

5. How about eating whole foods and getting exercise? Ban the Frankenfoods.

[MrsCorleone]

13. +1

[comtec]

14. Are you serious? They're the daughters of THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES...

IF they are getting LESS THAN the best fucking food on the planet, i'll eat my hat!

[supernova]

7. Thanks, Mom, for sharing my weight issues with the whole planet!

I love Michelle, but I'm pretty sure here daughters are mad at her for sharing that out loud. :P

[kickysnana]

9. +1

[MineralMan]

10. Ha! That's a mom's job -- embarrassing her daughters.

How else will they be able to face their peers?

[undeterred]

12. Dad discussed Sasha's grades when he visited

a school in Madison. He told about her getting a 73 on a test and then how she improved a lot from there. Yeah, I guess it would suck being presidential kids! But I think it helps a lot of people to see that they struggle with things just like other families do.

[gblady]

11. I think it's great.....

that Michelle will concentrate on childhood obesity.
It is a very important challenge in our country.

I like her message that small healthy changes add up
to make an overall significant difference.