Childhood obesity has become a major problem in the United States and around the world. It is a problem being taken seriously by public figures like Michelle Obama and Jamie Oliver, athletes, athletes like Shaquille O’Neal and Shawn Johnson, Biggest Loser contestants like Mike Ventrella and Bernie Salazar, Biggest Loser celebrities Jillian Michaels and Alison Sweeney, and even the NFL through their Play 60 campaign. Childhood obesity has been blamed on snacks and even late bedtimes. It has even been called child abuse. Changes in school food, breastfeeding, and even advertising campaigns are being used in an attempt to fight what has been called the childhood obesity epidemic.
Putting children on a diet has been controversial. While Slimkids is technically a program, rather than a diet, it does still deserve critical review. Slimkids appears to primarily utilize the USDA Food Pyramid for the nutritional aspect of the program. The positive aspects of Slimkids include promoting physical activity and decreasing screen time. Slimkids also offers a year of support for those who have purchased the program, although it is unclear what that support entails. (more…)
