Atkins in Our Schools!

“Don’t dig your grave with your own knife and fork.”
     --English Proverb

Yesterday I heard the sad and absolutely disgusting news that the Atkins Diet Company will be educating many of our nation's children on nutrition and health.  I am absolutely appalled and ashamed.  As adults we have failed miserably to give our youth the chance for healthy lives. It's so sad that a "diet company" is going to educate our children on nutrition and health.  As a health and fitness professional I know that diets DO NOT work for long-term weight loss, sadly enough, America and the National Education Association are allowing Atkins to give the wrong message to our children.  Sure Atkins is "masking" their national program telling us that they are also promoting fruits, vegetables, and regular exercise, but come on! Atkins is a DIET company! This does not pass my common sense test. There is an obvious conflict of interest. 

It makes no sense to the point of making perfect sense in a country that cries about child obesity yet promotes the sales of fast food, junk snacks, and sodas in school hallways and cafeterias. It makes perfect sense in a country whose school systems cut physical education programs and devalue what little health education curriculum they have left while the future of our country waddles around dragging their obesity everywhere they go. Why not let a diet company educate our kids?! Let's get our kids on board to be the next generation of health failures!

Sarcastic wit aside, maybe I myself could have and should do MORE to properly educate the public about child obesity and what to do about it--and so should you.  Let's start now! Diets and unsafe caloric restriction to do not work to promote long-term weight loss and a lifestyle of holistic Wellness. Get the junk food out of our schools and put "quality" physical and health education back into the curriculum. This would be a great start that makes perfect sense--now tell that to your schools before we have another generation of constipated and diet-crazed Americans that think carbs are evil as they pack down another greasy hamburger without the bun!

Let's give our children a chance to experience the best of life through dynamic human movement and the vitality of high-performance health and well-being...they deserve nothing less from what is supposed to be the greatest and most civilized country on earth.

Ron Jones, MS
Credentialed Teacher: PE, Health, English
September 2004

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