First nutritional standards changes in 20 years

[Katzndogz]

Promoting a cause or making a law.

 

[The Infidel]

all the first ladies have pretty universally accepted causes that they promote (literacy, physical fitness, nutrition, etc). not sure why so many people give Michelle grief about the one she picked. if a republican first lady picked the same thing, the partisans would flip flop. party first baby!!

I dont remember a first lady who meddled in the personal lives of the taxpayers as much as this bitch does.

 

[waltky]

Retired generals: Recruits "too fat to fight"...

Retired military leaders say this generation is "too fat to fight"
September 25, 2012 - Is obesity America's greatest threat to national security?

A group of retired military leaders seem to think so, given 27 percent of 17 to 24-year-olds in the United States are too fat to serve in the military. That's 9 million potential recruits. In their new report dubbed "Too Fat to Fight," the nonpartisan group of 100 retired generals and admirals known as Mission: Readiness calls on the U.S. government to reduce the amount of junk foods available at schools in favor of healthier options. "Being overweight or obese turns out to be the leading medical reason why applicants fail to qualify for military service," the group says in the report. "Today, otherwise excellent recruit prospects, some of them with generations of sterling military service in their family history, are being turned away because they are just too overweight."

More than one-third of U.S. adults -- 35.7 percent -- are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Citing Department of Defense data that 75 percent of young Americans can't join the military because they did not graduate from high school, have criminal records or are physically unfit, the group of retired military leaders has set their sights on combating obesity. Between 1995 and 2008, the military had 140,000 individuals who showed up at recruiting centers but failed their entrance physicals because of their weight, the report said.

Teaching healthy habits starts in childhood, the leaders note, so a properly managed school environment could help foster a lifetime of healthy eating habits. They want Congress to pass new child nutrition legislation that bars junk food from schools, increases funding to improve the nutrition and quality of school meals and provides children better access to programs that promote health.

The authors said school stores or canteens, vending machines and a la carte foods sold on lunch lines are areas of focus to make healthier. They are asking Congress to give the Secretary of the USDA power to implement healthier standards. "The folks that are going to enter the military in 2025 are in school right now," Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Norman Seip told Reuters. "So it's up to us to ensure that when those children reach the age of between 17 and 24 that they are ready or eligible to join the military."

Source

See also:

Military leaders point to schools in U.S. fat fight
Tue Sep 25, 2012 : Obesity a top reason young adults can't join military -experts * Report: U.S. school kids eat 400 billion excess calories a year * Retired military leaders push stronger school food rules

Former U.S military leaders have identified a latent threat to the potential for a leaner, more agile fighting force: the school vending machine. In a report to be released on Tuesday, a group of 300 retired military officers said school-age children are eating 400 billion excess calories a year - the equivalent of 2 billion candy bars - from junk food sold in such machines as well as in snack bars and cafeterias that should be off-limits. Those extra calories from candy, chips and sugary drinks amount to about 130 calories a day, which over a student's school years can lead to extra pounds. "The calories add up," the U.S. generals and admirals said in their report, which calls for tougher standards on the snacks schools can sell. "While limiting the sale of junk food is not a solution by itself for the childhood obesity epidemic, it is part of the solution," wrote the retired officers, who are part of a nonprofit group called Mission: Readiness, focused on youth issues.

Military experts have long been worried that rising obesity is making it difficult to find fit recruits. But the report places new pressure on government officials to revamp nutritional guidelines for foods sold in U.S. schools. "The folks that are going to enter the military in 2025 are in school right now. So it's up to us to ensure that when those children reach the age of between 17 and 24 that they are ready or eligible to join the military," Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Norman Seip, a member of the group, told Reuters. The number of overweight or obese children keeps rising and more than one third of American children and teenagers are too heavy, government statistics show. Other data shows that such children are also more likely to be heavier as adults. "It's a strong reminder of the seriousness and the extent of the obesity epidemic, showing how far reaching it is that even the military is concerned about it," said Margo Wootan, who oversees nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy group.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering new standards for so-called "competitive" foods sold outside of traditional school meals. USDA officials have said they are still working on the new rules, which were due in December. They have not said when the rules will be released. Doctors, public health experts and consumer advocates want the USDA to update limits on calories, fat and sodium in snack foods and to restrict beverage sales to healthier options such as naturally sweetened fruit juices and low-fat or non-fat milk. Food and beverage manufacturers have said they support efforts to revamp school nutrition guidelines, but they cite lack of exercise and other issues as part of the problem.

30 POUNDS OVERWEIGHT