Sad, Enraged, & Hopeful

Is it possible to feel sad, enraged, and hopeful all at the same time? A recent trip inside a local fast food establishment – for iced tea - triggered all three of these emotions for me.

Why sad? I saw a man sitting in a booth, distracted by his cell phone while his two children sat quietly eating huge hamburgers, French fries, and sipping on large sugary drinks. Neither of these children could have been more than twelve, and both of them were overweight. The amount of calories sitting in front of each of them had to have topped a thousand, more than either of them should have eaten in a whole day! The story I made up about that scene was that the man was divorced from the children’s mother, and that he had them for the weekend. He was having a casual conversation with someone who wasn’t even there, and the kids seemed bored.

Why enraged? The man seemed oblivious to his children, like he was just doing his duty to feed them and keep them entertained, so he could continue his conversation on his cell phone. When the boy asked his dad a question, his dad snapped at him, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone!” Here’s the story I made up about how they got there. Based on the excess weight of both the children, I suspected they had found a way to feel comfortable while being with their dad – and he found a way to keep them entertained until time to send them back to Mom. I also suspect that the environment with their mom was not much different. Fast food, it seems, has replaced cartoons for the entertainment provided by the non-custodial parent. Fast food, however, has less nutrition than Sponge Bob Square Pants. And neither fast food nor cartoons can replace quality parental interaction. Besides, just sitting and talking to your kids is a whole lot cheaper. A fast-food restaurant, or any restaurant for that matter, is NO substation for the dining room table at home.

Why hopeful? The media blitz on obesity has taken the gloves off. Overweight is overweight, anyway you look at it. The message is simple: The obesity epidemic can be cured. It’s not like a contagious virus or bacteria; you can’t get fat from walking into an all-you-can-eat buffet full of obese people. You can get fat if you do what those obese people do, though, and that’s eating too much and eating the wrong food.

The average calorie intake for a healthy woman is 1800. For a man, it’s 2200. These number, though, are as variable as the temperatures on our planet. Appropriate calorie intake depends on height, bone size, and activity levels. Don’t guess, and don’t make excuses. Do the calculations. Your life may depend on it.