Bachmann: First Lady Wants a 'Nanny State'

Choice is great—but we're making the wrong ones, writes Cathy Young

(NEWSER) - As Michelle Obama and Congress champion efforts to fight childhood obesity, the right, led by Sarah Palin and Fox News, is angrily firing back. While some of their concerns are fair—that healthy-eating messaging can escalate into “propaganda,” for example—others suggest “a reality check is in order,” writes Cathy Young at RealClearPolitics . "For the right, 'my body, my choice' means not only that the government shouldn't be able to ban your favorite junk food or ship you off to a fat-farm gulag, but that you should be able to gorge yourself into obesity without having to endure societal disapproval or lectures from do-gooders." But the anti-obesity campaign is about “persuasion,” not “coercion.” More»

Michelle Obama's project exaggerates the issue, for starters

(NEWSER) - Kate Harding loves 90% of Michelle Obama's childhood obesity initiative—but she has a real problem with the 10% that is "whipping up fear and disgust of the very fat children you're supposedly trying to help." Her objections, in Salon :

• Exaggeration: Childhood obesity is painted in the most frightening possible way. ("Our children may live shorter lives than their parents.") The truth is, childhood obesity levels are no longer rising—so enough with the "fear-mongering."

Michelle Obama talks to GMA in advance of launching initiative

(NEWSER) - Michelle Obama wants to eliminate childhood obesity in just one generation, and she will launch her ambitious "Let's Move" campaign today at noon. "We want our kids to face a different and more optimistic future in terms of their lifespan," the first lady tells Good Morning America . Obama's initiative focuses on four areas: educating parents, improving food in schools, making healthy foods more affordable, and focusing on physical education. More»

Nursing infant outside norms for age; 'absurd,' cry parents

(NEWSER) - A Colorado couple is baffled that their baby has been denied health insurance coverage because of a preexisting condition: obesity. “I could understand if we could control what he's eating,” says the boy’s father. “But he's 4 months old. He's breast-feeding. We can't put him on the Atkins diet.” An insurance company exec understands the consternation but tells the Denver Post there’s nothing he can do. “Everybody else in the industry does it.” More»

Law imposes nutritional requirements, expands school lunches

(AP) - Thousands more children would eat at school and all school food would become more nutritious under a bill President Obama signed into law today, part of an administration-wide effort to combat childhood obesity. "At a very basic level, this act is about doing what's right for our children," Obama said before signing the bill. The bill also was a priority for first lady Michelle Obama, who launched a national campaign this year against childhood obesity. More»