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Do parents know what good nutrition is?

Do parents already know what's healthy in terms of nutrition and exercise?


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Josie

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Michelle Obama recently said:

Let’s Move! is not about having government telling people what to do, because government doesn’t have all the answers. I mean, a problem that’s this big and affects so many people requires everyone to step up. So we’re asking everyone to do their part. Parents have to make some changes at home, but they need the information to be able to make those choices.

Do we need to spend money teaching parents about healthy eating and exercise habits? Or do you believe most parents already know this (even if they don't encourage a healthy diet/exercise routine for their children)?
 
Since it has been so long since I was in school (high school), I don't know what kids are being taught nowadays regarding nutrition. It used to be very basic information, and everyone was exposed to it. Whether or not they actually listened and retained the information is another matter altogether. :mrgreen:

As for spending money for teaching parents, no, not at the governmental level. This is information which is easily accessible in this age and time.
 
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Michelle Obama recently said:

Do we need to spend money teaching parents about healthy eating and exercise habits? Or do you believe most parents already know this (even if they don't encourage a healthy diet/exercise routine for their children)?

Wellllllll, seems to me a monthly flyer sent home that said something like:

Try to limit processed foods like Mac & Cheese, Chef BoyRDe Ravioli, Hamburger Helper.
Limit beef to twice a week.
Eat fish/pork/chicken/eggs the other five.
And broil it -- don't fry it!
Lay off/drastically limit fast food.
Cut back on sugar and starches.
Eat three servings of veggies every day.
Cut way back on pop and drink plenty of water.

...would pretty much sum it up. That'll be $10,000 a year for those flyers, by the way. ;)
Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit.
 
I think most everyone knows the basics of nutrition and exercise. It's a waste of money to teach what is already known.
 
Michelle Obama recently said:



Do we need to spend money teaching parents about healthy eating and exercise habits? Or do you believe most parents already know this (even if they don't encourage a healthy diet/exercise routine for their children)?

I think most people are ignorant on what's healthy as far as diet. I go to Walmart and see people's baskets mounded up with the highest fat foods in the store, and maybe a little bit of the other stuff, the low or non-fat foods with that contain stuff like fiber. And the people get bigger and bigger.
 
I think most people are ignorant on what's healthy as far as diet. I go to Walmart and see people's baskets mounded up with the highest fat foods in the store, and maybe a little bit of the other stuff, the low or non-fat foods with that contain stuff like fiber. And the people get bigger and bigger.

You're assuming that they think what's in their cart is healthy.
 
Its effectiveness nationally would likely be evaluated by social scientists as negligible at best. That being said, modest sums for good causes is a public relations front that I would support.
 
How many millions (billions?) have we spent on the Food Pyramids and nutrition education in schools? We're still a nation full of lazy, fat people. Obviously it's not education that's the problem, but motivation.
 
I think most people are ignorant on what's healthy as far as diet. I go to Walmart and see people's baskets mounded up with the highest fat foods in the store, and maybe a little bit of the other stuff, the low or non-fat foods with that contain stuff like fiber. And the people get bigger and bigger.

My guess is that they aren't ignorant, but rather just want to each junk.
 
How many millions (billions?) have we spent on the Food Pyramids and nutrition education in schools? We're still a nation full of lazy, fat people. Obviously it's not education that's the problem, but motivation.

I would generally agree. That being said, I like my government PR campaigns.
 
you gotta realize knowing proper nutrition and affording it are two dofferent things.

i grew up in a poor family,and the poorest point was before my father retired from the navy.i still remember all christmas day presents came from navy charities and navy officers who felt bad for those without.my family could barely afford 6 kids and barely afford a house to live in,my parents drove a two used vehicles,my mother drove the super high output dodge omni,that thing could smoke nearly any new car on the road,and my father drove a 72 dodge truck he bought for $200 bucks,kinda a fun truck most vehicles dont have 3 foot wide holes in the floorboard to see what the road offers.


guess the point is because of costs my family couldnt afford healthy food,if you actually price eating healthy to eating junk half the low income families would starve without the junk.our staple was 5 pound cans of chef boyardee raviolee,(actually havent seen this sold in over 10 years,those cans were huge and cheap)and hamurger beans,literaly ground beef and baked beans mixed together.we also had ground beef with rice and gravy(couldnt even afford real meat)and a whole lot of spagetti.


after my father left the navy and filed bankruptcy after every employer he had bounced his checks,effectively putting him a few paychecks behind,he moved to cali to stay with family.when he finally got a good paying job he and my mother made it a point not to eat complete crap,but looking back eating crap food is better than not eating at all.
 
Since it has been so long since I was in school (high school), I don't know what kids are being taught nowadays regarding nutrition. It used to be very basic information, and everyone was exposed to it. Whether or not they actually listened and retained the information is another matter altogether. :mrgreen:

As for spending money for teaching parents, no, not at the governmental level. This is information which is easily accessible in this age and time.
At the very least, this should be done at a city, county, or state level. Absolutely not at the federal level. The states didn't for a union so that it could tell them what to eat. They are perfectly capable of doing this on their own.
 
At the very least, this should be done at a city, county, or state level. Absolutely not at the federal level. The states didn't for a union so that it could tell them what to eat. They are perfectly capable of doing this on their own.

True, but the thing is, I bet virtually all of us were given this information in high school or before. They are such basic concepts that I can't imagine most people just forgetting them. I really don't believe most people eat to be healthy, but they eat for pleasure and out of boredom.
 
I agree with lizzie that this information is readily available to anyone for free. No need to spend any taxpayer dollars on something anyone can google.
 
True, but the thing is, I bet virtually all of us were given this information in high school or before. They are such basic concepts that I can't imagine most people just forgetting them. I really don't believe most people eat to be healthy, but they eat for pleasure and out of boredom.

I totally agree. I don't think that any government should be telling us what is good to eat, I'm just pointing out that I most adamantly object to the federation doing it.

In addition, once you have the government issuing proclamations about what to eat, we all know damn well that they be able to be bought off by those pushing their particular foodstuff. They've already produced a generation of obese diabetics by pushing their low fat, high carbohydrate diet.
 
You're assuming that they think what's in their cart is healthy.

Ask around. So many people think in order to get the amount of protein they need, they have to eat a lot of chicken, beef, eggs, etc., to be healthy. That's ignorance.
 
i grew up in a poor family,and the poorest point was before my father retired from the navy.i still remember all christmas day presents came from navy charities and navy officers who felt bad for those without.my family could barely afford 6 kids and barely afford a house to live in,my parents drove a two used vehicles,my mother drove the super high output dodge omni,that thing could smoke nearly any new car on the road,and my father drove a 72 dodge truck he bought for $200 bucks,kinda a fun truck most vehicles dont have 3 foot wide holes in the floorboard to see what the road offers.


guess the point is because of costs my family couldnt afford healthy food,if you actually price eating healthy to eating junk half the low income families would starve without the junk.our staple was 5 pound cans of chef boyardee raviolee,(actually havent seen this sold in over 10 years,those cans were huge and cheap)and hamurger beans,literaly ground beef and baked beans mixed together.we also had ground beef with rice and gravy(couldnt even afford real meat)and a whole lot of spagetti.


after my father left the navy and filed bankruptcy after every employer he had bounced his checks,effectively putting him a few paychecks behind,he moved to cali to stay with family.when he finally got a good paying job he and my mother made it a point not to eat complete crap,but looking back eating crap food is better than not eating at all.

I grew up in a pretty poor home myself, and we ate alot of what some people would consider junk, but we weren't overweight or unhealthy. Sure it would have been better to have fresh fruits and veggies, and chicken breast or steak as opposed to hamburger, but getting enough nutrition is still possible without spending a fortune on food. Humans don't really need as much "healthy" food as alot of people believe, to actually be healthy.
 
you gotta realize knowing proper nutrition and affording it are two dofferent things.

i grew up in a poor family,and the poorest point was before my father retired from the navy.i still remember all christmas day presents came from navy charities and navy officers who felt bad for those without.my family could barely afford 6 kids and barely afford a house to live in,my parents drove a two used vehicles,my mother drove the super high output dodge omni,that thing could smoke nearly any new car on the road,and my father drove a 72 dodge truck he bought for $200 bucks,kinda a fun truck most vehicles dont have 3 foot wide holes in the floorboard to see what the road offers.


guess the point is because of costs my family couldnt afford healthy food,if you actually price eating healthy to eating junk half the low income families would starve without the junk.our staple was 5 pound cans of chef boyardee raviolee,(actually havent seen this sold in over 10 years,those cans were huge and cheap)and hamurger beans,literaly ground beef and baked beans mixed together.we also had ground beef with rice and gravy(couldnt even afford real meat)and a whole lot of spagetti.


after my father left the navy and filed bankruptcy after every employer he had bounced his checks,effectively putting him a few paychecks behind,he moved to cali to stay with family.when he finally got a good paying job he and my mother made it a point not to eat complete crap,but looking back eating crap food is better than not eating at all.

Many of the healthiest foods are the cheapest.
 
ill see if i can find the militarys guide to being healthy.to date what i was taught joining the army has been the most accurate and detailed information ive recieved on the subject.

and to no surprise,the military has spent decades devoting research to health,to keep or soldiers 100% healthy and to maintain combat superiority,but also to reduce the severe burden to the health system by soldiers living unhealthy and being poorly trained on the difference on beneficial excersise and counterproductive excerise,ie excersise that damages you more than it benefits.
 
My guess is that they aren't ignorant, but rather just want to each junk.

Again, many people think they have to eat the high fat foods to get the amount of protein they think they need.
 
How many people want the government to tell grocery stores what to sell, cookbook companies what to print, and parents what's on the menu? Come on, raise your goddamn hands up high!
 
Many of the healthiest foods are the cheapest.

if you actually consider frozen and canned foods vs fresh fruits veggies and low fat meats,there is a massive difference in cost,if we had to eat alot of spagetti to feed 6 kids on a budget of 6 dollars a wekk for food,tell me how healthy food would have been an option?

im not exactly rich now but i eat healthier than when i was a kid,to say healthy food is cheaper your wrong,to say its not too expensive youd be right,but to alot of families that little bit extra is a little bit more than they can afford.
 
if you actually consider frozen and canned foods vs fresh fruits veggies and low fat meats,there is a massive difference in cost,if we had to eat alot of spagetti to feed 6 kids on a budget of 6 dollars a wekk for food,tell me how healthy food would have been an option?

im not exactly rich now but i eat healthier than when i was a kid,to say healthy food is cheaper your wrong,to say its not too expensive youd be right,but to alot of families that little bit extra is a little bit more than they can afford.

Exactly how long ago are you talking about?

Spaghetti isn't unhealthy at all. You got your starch, your protein, and your veggie all in one. :mrgreen:
 
Exactly how long ago are you talking about?

Spaghetti isn't unhealthy at all. You got your starch, your protein, and your veggie all in one. :mrgreen:

i never said spaghetti was unhealthy,but my point was how can someone expect fruit vegetables and diversity if they cant aford more than spaghetti,sauce like 75 cents a can generic,and noodles if you buy in bulk can last a month for a poor family for $12 a month.

i will not deny there are those who choose not to eat healthy,in my old apartment i had 3 roommates the one from geargia loved that i made fresh food.the one from west virginia would play chemist with all my food throw it out and waste his money at jack in the box then tell me he cant afford rent.the one from nevade refused for 3 months to eat anything i or anyone else cooked ad would only eat fast or frozen food,after the first time he ate my food he suddenly begged for it everynight.
 
Michelle Obama recently said:



Do we need to spend money teaching parents about healthy eating and exercise habits? Or do you believe most parents already know this (even if they don't encourage a healthy diet/exercise routine for their children)?

In my state over 70% of the adult population is overweight: no - they do not know about healthy eating habits to the point of being able to impliment it in a family diet or *wanting* to impliment it.

Southern foods are notoriously unhealthy and though veggies are also done southern style they're not in enough of a variety without added sugar, fats and oils to be worth it: corn doesn't count.
 
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