First Lady Michelle Obama believes America has undergone a “culture change” since she started the Let’s Move anti-obesity program five years ago. “Together, we are making a real difference in helping kids across the country get a healthier start to life,” she stated on the Let’s Move website.
Many believe the mechanisms used to bring about change in behavior through the Let’s Move campaign are intrusive on the part of the federal government. Public schools must change their menus to receive funding for free and reduced lunches. Some claim many active students are simply not taking in enough calories to support their growing bodies. And students often leave the table hungry, complaining about the quality and flavor of the food served.
I could reason Mrs. Obama just needs a pet project or is on a mission to reduce costs associated with government run health care, but I’m actually giving her the benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, she is a believer in big government, so we can only expect her to tightly weave her convictions into overarching government regulations that will almost inevitably fail.
When the campaign launched in 2010, 2.7 million children were obese. That is something to be legitimately concerned about. But sadly, the overall rate of childhood obesity hasn’t changed.
Of course, responsible and loving parents work to instill positive patterns of behavior in their children that will carry them into well-adjusted and healthy adult lives. I get it. But what I don’t get is the very skinny, winding, and obscure road traveled by this pair of presidential parents.
The following stat was recently cited to portray progress with the campaign: Obesity dropped 43 percent among children ages two to four. The age range is obviously very narrow, and even though the Let’s Move initiative started in 2010, the numbers were pulled from 2004 to 2012. Although the data was extracted from a reputable source, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the time frame was definitely off.
CDCP has also reported a wealth of reliable and disturbing facts about the effects of homosexual behaviors, particularly among males. Gay and bisexual men represent only about two percent of the U.S. population but accounted for three-fourths of all estimated new HIV infections annually from 2008 to 2010. Wow! That is an extreme and unmistakable health risk associated with homosexual behavior.
In 2010, the same year the Let’s Move campaign kicked off, African American men accounted for more than double the number of estimated new infections in other ethnic groups. And young African American gay and bisexual males ages 13 to 24 are especially affected by HIV. But where’s the compassion for these young men? Where’s the determination to bring about necessary lifestyle changes?
And somehow President Obama expresses no concern for those who wish to change that extremely risky behavior. Rather, he wants to model decisions made in California, New Jersey, and DC banning licensed professionals from offering and providing conversion therapy for minors who seek to change their same-sex attractions and behavior.
While gluttony, laziness, and ignorance can certainly lead to a life of disease and early death, so can misguided sexual desires. This is clear. If the Obamas really understand and care about the importance of teaching a child correct behaviors at an early age when it comes to nutrition and exercise, why is the concept inapplicable when it concerns damaging sexual cravings and behaviors?
Have you ever watched a movie scene where one actor withheld a helping hand from another whose grip was slipping from the edge of a tower or building? It goes against everything we know to be right and good. We don’t just let somebody fall into a pit of destruction when it’s within our power to help.
