Next, Michelle Obama's health reform plan for the nation's restaurant menus and families dining out

First Lady Michelle Obama, who has been unable to convince the Smoker-in-Chief to give up that dreadful habit, now has some health suggestions for other American families and for restaurant menus across the country. The goal is to eat healthier, although that might hurt restaurant sales and cause disappointed children.

Obama, who has made combating childhood obesity and inactivity her favored causes, addressed the National Restaurant Assn. (See the text below, along with photos of her husband not eating arugula.) She, of course, has her own personal chef brought in from Chicago and took full parental responsibility for guiding her daughters' diets because parents are crucial habit-formers and role models, even in food choices.

But Obama would like to see more healthy choices for Americans dining out, even if it means a restaurant deleting a best-selling menu item.

The Democrat suggested that Americans are "programmed" by taste and advertising to eat many things that the government and health professionals know are not healthy for their bodies. So she wants to facilitate a nationwide re-programming of personal tastes by having restaurants start serving less of what customers ignorantly want and more of what they should have.

One idea Mrs. Obama had is to serve apple slices as the default side dish with, say, hamburgers, instead of French fries, which she confessed to liking.

Also she'd like less butter and cream in restaurant dinners, not enough to....

...ruin the flavor but enough to make them healthy. A difficult balance, millions have learned.

Her other suggestions: Substitute whole wheat pasta for white. Smaller portions (presumably for smaller prices). Less mac and cheese, chicken fingers and cheeseburgers on kids' menus. More carrots.

Mrs. Obama expressed concern that Americans are now spending more money on food purchased and/or eaten outside the home, which many in her audience of restaurant business owners likely think is a pretty good thing.

The first lady doesn't mind ordinary families eating out on special occasions. But, she claimed, restaurant efforts to reduce calories and fats have been insufficient. And too slow. "We just don't have the time to waste," Mrs. Obama added.

"As humans, we are programmed to crave sugary, fatty, salty foods," Mrs. Obama told the group.

"And as people who work to meet those needs, I know it’s tempting to respond by creating products that are sweeter, richer and saltier than ever before. But here’s the catch. See, feeding those cravings doesn't just respond to people’s natural desires, it actually helps shape them. The more of these foods people eat, the more they're accustomed to that taste, and after a while, those unhealthy foods become a permanent part of their eating habits."

She said she understood that healthy meals sell less, which is not a good thing for any business. But she said the problem of obesity is so great, it must be addressed urgently by all means.

She said it's also important to change these national eating habits because they end up costing billions in additional healthcare costs.

Grab some cauliflower and savor her full remarks below.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Remarks on restaurant menus by Michelle Obama, as provided by the White House

MRS. OBAMA:  Thanks so much. (Applause.) Well, good morning. Let me start by thanking Michael for his work and for that kind introduction.

And I want to also thank Dawn Sweeny and everyone at the National Restaurant Association for having me here. It is a pleasure for me to be with you all.

So today I’m going to talk about food, which is something that all of you here today know a little bit about.

Together, you represent 40 percent of the nearly one million restaurants in the United States, from the biggest chains to the smallest diners. You know what Americans like to eat and what they don’t. You’ve seen how the ingredients we put in our bodies affect the way we feel and the way we feel about ourselves. And you also understand the unique role that food, and restaurants especially, play in our own lives and in the life of our nation.

Restaurants have always been places to celebrate a special occasion or mark an important milestone, to bond with new friends and grow closer as a family. They provide a service to our communities unlike any other. And even as tastes and customs have changed over time, restaurants remain an incredibly dynamic part of our American story.

And today, one out of every two dollars spent on food in this country goes towards meals outside the home -– and that’s double what it was just 50 years ago.

And one-third of all meals today are eaten in restaurants.
 
So it’s clear that eating out has become part of our American way of life.

And while restaurants are still places where we go to mark a special occasion -– to celebrate a good report card, an anniversary, a job well done –- restaurants aren’t just for those who can afford to splurge anymore.

Instead, they’ve grown to fit every lifestyle and every budget.

And our eating habits have evolved over time as well -– both in restaurants and at home -– but not always in ways that are good for our health.

And that’s another reason I wanted to talk to you today –- about an issue that is near and dear to my heart not just as First Lady, but as a mother -– and that is the epidemic of childhood obesity in America today.

Now, I know you’re all familiar with the statistics: how one in three children in this country is overweight or obese. And you know the consequences for their health –- from hypertension and diabetes to heart disease and even cancer.

And I know you’re all aware of the economic impact: the billions of dollars we spend every year treating obesity-related conditions -– costs that you pay in the form of rising health insurance premiums.

So it’s clear that we’re facing a problem that is really big. And it’s also clear that this problem has a whole range of different causes.

Our kids are spending less time outside and more time on the couch in front of the TV, video games, the Internet. At school, gym classes, recess, they’ve been eliminated or shortened.  Portion sizes in this country have ballooned. 

In some areas, families are having a tougher time getting regular access to fresh produce. And kids these days are consuming more calories and eating more fat and sugar than ever before.

And that’s why, earlier this year, we launched “Let’s Move!” This is a nationwide campaign with a simple but ambitious goal: We want to solve the problem of childhood obesity in a generation, so that kids born today can reach adulthood at a healthy weight.

And “Let’s Move!” is about attacking this problem from all different angles. It’s about giving parents the information and the resources they need to make healthy decisions for their families.

It’s about giving grocery stores -- helping them to locate in underserved areas, so that every community has access to fresh and nutritious food. It’s about getting healthier food into our schools. It’s about helping our kids become more active, not just in school but at home.

But here’s the thing. Even if we give parents all the information they need and we improve school meals and build brand new supermarkets on every corner, none of that matters if when families step into a restaurant, they can’t make a healthy choice.

And the truth is that while restaurants are offering more options and families take advantage of them more often, they aren’t always the healthiest choices.

Research has shown that kids consume more saturated fat and less fiber and calcium when they eat out. And the meals they eat at restaurants have twice as many calories as the ones they eat at home.

Now, as parents we know that many of our kids aren’t as healthy and active as they should be. And we desperately want to do things differently. But when stores and restaurants don't offer healthy options, or when parents don't have the information to make the best choices for their families, that's easier said than done.

And as America’s restaurant owners, you’re responsible for one-third of the calories our kids get on a daily basis. The choices you make determine what’s listed on the menus, what’s advertised on billboards, and what’s served on our plates.

And your decisions about how a dish is prepared, what goes into it and where is it placed on the menu, that can have a real impact on the way people eat.

And that's why we need your help. And we need your help now, because when you see research showing that obese toddlers already display some warning signs for heart disease, it’s clear that we just don't have the time to waste.

And that's why I’ve been so pleased to hear about what some of you are doing already both in working with us and on your own.
 
Here at the NRA, you’ve developed the Food and Healthy Living Initiative to give restaurants a strong foundation for making healthy changes. You’ve launched a website, Healthydiningfinder.com, to help consumers identify healthy menu options in their area.

You're keeping your members up to date with the latest information and statistics about efforts to address childhood obesity. And you’re working with other groups in the industry to meet the goal of doubling the amount of produce used in the food industry over the next 10 years.

And across the country, individual restaurants and chains are also focusing on our children’s health -- not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it also makes sense for their bottom line.

Right now, many restaurants are making a point to offer fresh produce and healthy choices aimed at kids and adults.  Others are serving more low-fat dishes, whole grain breads, fruit on the side. Some are even offering kid-size portions of the meals they serve on the main menu. And chefs across the country are partnering with local schools to help them make healthy choices.

But as positive as these examples are, the reality is it’s just not enough. Together we have to do more. We have to go further. And we need your help to lead this effort.

Now, what I do know is that in the restaurant industry creativity is your lifeblood. It’s what sets you apart from the competition, and it keeps customers coming back for more.

And today I am asking you to use that creativity to rethink the food you offer, especially dishes aimed at young people, and to help us make the healthier choice the easier choice.

First, it’s important to reduce the number of empty calories that our families are consuming, calories that have no nutritional benefit whatsoever. And believe me, I know this is easier said than done.

After all, we as humans, we are programmed to crave sugary, fatty, salty foods. And as people who work to meet those needs, I know it’s tempting to respond by creating products that are sweeter, richer and saltier than ever before.

But here’s the catch. See, feeding those cravings does just respond to people’s natural desires, it actually helps shape them. The more of these foods people eat, the more they're accustomed to that taste, and after a while, those unhealthy foods become a permanent part of their eating habits.
 
But here’s the good news: It can work the other way around just as easily. Just as we can shape our children’s preferences for high-calorie, low-nutrient foods, with a little persistence and creativity we can also turn them on to higher quality, healthier foods.

It starts with offering healthier options designed specifically for kids. And today, no matter what kind of restaurant you visit -- whether it’s Italian, French, Mexican, American -- most kids’ menus look pretty much the same. And trust me, we’ve seen a lot of them.

One local survey found that 90 percent of those menus includes mac and cheese -- our children’s favorite; 80 percent includes chicken fingers; 60 includes burgers or cheeseburgers.

Some options weigh in at over 1,000 calories, and that’s close to the recommended amount that a child should have for the entire day. And I think -- and I know you all think -- that our kids deserve better than that.

That’s why I want to challenge every restaurant to offer healthy menu options and then provide them up front so that parents don’t have to hunt around and read the small print to find an appropriately sized portion that doesn’t contain levels -- high levels of fat, salt and sugar.
 
These choices have to be easy to make and they have to give parents the confidence to know that they can go into any restaurant in this country and choose a genuinely healthy meal for their kids.

Now, again, I know it’s easier said than done. It’s not easy to come up with choices that are both healthy and palatable for kids. And it may mean putting in some real effort and creativity to make this happen.

But what it doesn’t mean is providing just one token healthy option on the menu, or taking out one problematic ingredient and replacing it with another. And it is not about finding creative ways to market unhealthy food products as healthy.

Instead, it’s about producing products that actually are healthy; products that can help our children get into the habits that will last them a lifetime.
 
This philosophy also needs to apply to the rest of the food that you offer, because just as we eat out as a family, we also should be able to eat well as a family.

And as a mother of two soon-to-be teenagers, I know that many kids, especially tweens and teens, eat off the same menu that their parents do.

I'm not asking any of you to make drastic changes to every single one of your recipes or to totally change the way you do business. But what I am asking is that you consider reformulating your menu in pragmatic and incremental ways to create healthier versions of the foods that we all love.

That could mean substituting wheat pasta for white pasta in your regular recipes, or taking out an existing -- taking an existing dish and cutting the amount of butter or cream -- not enough to sacrifice flavor -- we all like flavor -- but just enough to make a meaningful difference in the amount of calories and fat.

It could mean serving 1 percent or skim milk. Or you could make healthy sides like apple slices or carrots the default choice in a menu and make fries something customers have to request -- which would hurt me deeply. (Laughter.) I'm a fry lover.
 
And no matter what you do, it’s also important, truly important, to keep portion sizes in check, because we all know that the size of a meal is just as important as the ingredients it’s made of.

But your role in helping address childhood obesity isn’t limited to what you put on your menus and how you label them for parents. It’s also about how you market those products to our kids.

Our kids don’t learn about the latest fast-food creations on their own. They hear about them on TV, advertisements, in the Internet, video games, and many other places. And as any parent knows, this marketing is highly effective.

As a mom, I know it is my responsibility, and no one else’s, to raise my kids. But we have to ask ourselves, what does it mean when so many parents are finding their best efforts undermined by an avalanche of advertisements aimed at our kids.

A study last year found that only a small percentage of advertising aimed at kids promoted healthy foods, while most promoted foods with a low nutritional value. And let’s be clear: It’s not enough just to limit ads for foods that aren’t healthy.   It’s also going to be critical to increase marketing for foods that are healthy.

And if there’s anyone who can sell healthy food to our kids, it’s all of you, because you know what gets their attention.  You know what makes a lasting impression.  You certainly know what gets them to drive their poor parents crazy because they just have to have something.
 
So I'm here today to ask you to use that knowledge and that power to our kids’ advantage. I'm asking you to actively promote healthy foods and healthy habits to our kids.

Again, I know many of you have said that you would offer and promote healthy options in a heartbeat if they were as popular as the healthy -- unhealthy options, because that’s how business works, and I understand that.

But I’ve yet to meet a single parent who doesn’t understand the threat of childhood obesity. I’ve yet to meet a single parent who’s not eager to buy healthier products. They just need more information. They need easier access to those products.

And I’ve heard from more companies over the year that the market is starting to move in a healthier direction. Folks are beginning to ask for more fruits and vegetables and for smaller portions. So when it comes right down to it, this is also about protecting your bottom lines and meeting the demands of your customers -- customers who I know you want to keep coming back again and again.

That’s why we’re committed to helping increase that demand and making it easier for you to do what’s right. And we’ve started by requiring chain restaurants to provide calorie counts on their menus and menu boards. And I am grateful for the support we’ve received from the NRA to get this done. And I want to encourage restaurants that aren’t providing calorie counts to join us in this effort.

And because so many of the calories our kids consume come from school, we’re also working to get more nutritious food into our lunchrooms and our vending machines. And, again, the NRA has been playing an important role in these efforts as well.

As part of “Let’s Move,” we’re setting a goal of doubling the number of schools that participate in the Healthier US Schools Challenge by next year. And we’re working with schools and food suppliers to offer more fruits and vegetables and to cut down on that fat, sugar and salt.
And, finally, we’re working with mayors and other local officials to make our cities and towns healthier and to highlight restaurants that agree to serve smaller portions and promote more nutritious options.

So I hope that all of you will join with us in these efforts. Together, we can help make sure that every family that walks into a restaurant can make an easy, healthy choice.

We can make a commitment to promote vegetables and fruits and whole grains on every part of every menu. We can make portion sizes smaller and emphasize quality over quantity. And we can help create a culture -- imagine this -- where our kids ask for healthy options instead of resisting them.

See, after all, that’s one of the core ideals this industry was founded on. I recently learned that the term “restaurant” actually comes from the French word for “restore.”  And when the idea of the restaurant business spread across the ocean, some of the first true restaurants in this country emphasized their ability to make people healthier and to cure what ailed them.

So today, you are all the heirs to that legacy. And you face a similar opportunity both as business owners -- but also as parents, not just to fulfill your obligations to shareholders, but to fulfill the obligation we all have to the next generation.

So I hope that each of you will do your part to give our kids the future that we all know they deserve. And I want to truly thank you for what you have done, because you have done so much, and for what you’re going to do.

I look forward to working with you all in the months and years ahead. Good luck to you all and God bless you and your families. Take care. Thank you. (Applause.)    ####

Photos: J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press (Michelle Obama speaking to restaurant owners); Charles Dharapak / Associated Press (napkin, chicken wings, pancakes); CBS News (Philly cheesesteak); Getty Images (eating kringle in Wisconsin); Associated Press (hot dog, waffles, fried chicken, shaved ice, pizza); Charles Dharapak / Associated Press (cheeseburgers with Joe Biden); Associated Press (sandwich, beer).  

Comments

[Juan]

MO should think more about Her Rear End than mine. I'm older than She is and in much beter shape. I could out run Her or BO on a sick day. MO GET THE HELL OUT OF OUR LIVES. WE DON'T CARE WHAT YOU THINK.

[Nelson]

Mrs. Obama,

Do us all a favor and close your mouth. Instead of lecturing privately owned restaurants on their choice menus, why don’t you try getting the Federal Government to provide safe and nutritional lunches for our kids in public schools? A recent study by USA Today concluded that McDonalds’s food is more SAFE and NUTRITIOUS than the food being served to our children in public schools. Until then, Please Shut-Up…….

[rjhunt95]

It's Very interesting that Michelle Obama is all up in arms about salt, but when it came to death panels her husband is all for it, The only difference is one is by personal choice and the other is by the elites choice, what is the differences? they just want the power to play god

[Jimmy Ray]

It's very simple. I don't want my government telling me what to do. That goes double when they insist they know better, or that it's "for my own good". If there are consequences to my actions, I will factor those into my decisions, and deal with them if I choose. That's how life works. It's my life, my body, and my choice. Government is attempting to bolster its intrusive position by creating consequences which affect others: "Well, if you have public health care, others must bear the cost of your choices." I'm not ASKING for public health care. I will refuse it even if I must go to prison for doing so. And I'm not asking for the government's opinion on anything else I do to myself.

I pledge this: any restaurant that I frequent, who changes their menu to acquiesce to this nonsense, will have received the last dollar of my business. PERIOD.

[rjhunt95]

It's Very interesting that Michelle Obama is all up in arms about salt, but when it came to death panels her husband is all for it, The only difference is one is by personal choice and the other is by the elites choice, what is the differences? they just want the power to play god

[Rey]

Michelle, MYOB. Start at home with your husband. When he quits smoking try the rest of us.

[ABC]

There are doubtless bigger threats being launched against personal liberites each day in the US, but I swear--that between these two jaybirds--Janet N and Michelle O--I am ready to scream. Is there no detail of our lives too small for the nanny-state--and our two nannies-in-chief--to attempt to meddle with? I would like for Michelle Obama to worry primarily about her own children and her own fat #$$ and leave the rest of us alone. Unlike M.O., most of us do not have personal chefs, and a restaurant meal is a rare indulgence. Would like to enjoy it just the way it comes--tasting good--and unmolested by the govt.

[ctmom]

How about if MO just bans obese people from eating french fries. She can hire someone to stand at the door of every restaurant in the country whose job it will be to determine if they are too fat to order french fries. Leave the rest of us alone.

[KG!]

With more government control of health care this is just the beginning. The premise will be in order to lower health care costs we need to stop eating certain foods or stop various activities. You wanted it now you have it.

[Joseph Tanner]

Hey Mrs. Obama, STAY OUT OF MY LIFE YOU SOCIALIST IDIOT!

[Layla]

This is rich...coming from the couple setting records for lavish dinner parties and entertaining in the White House while many Americans would be grateful to be able to afford some of that fast food she thinks we are all eating.

Can she really be this clueless?

[She Gonna Knock Those McNuggets Right Outta Your Gob!]

Apple slices? Really? So let's review the last five or ten White House formal dinner menus & see just how Michelle (aka "Let 'em Eat Cake" Lady) practices what she preaches. I suppose she could have employed those apple slices as an amuse-bouche after the sauteed foie gras... oh, someone please post those menus for the great salt & fat eating unwashed to peruse... I am certain she lives the "suggestions" she touts for the "little people"....

[sueinmi]

Ya know what?? I can decide for myself what I want to eat. Doesn't this woman have a vacation to take?

[Cowboy]

Dems may use food-stamp money to pay for Michelle Obama's nutrition initiative
By Russell Berman - 08/14/10 06:00 AM ET
.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/114271-dems-consider-more-food-stamp-cuts-to-fund-child-nutrition-bill
.
Democrats who reluctantly slashed a food-stamp program to fund a state-aid bill may have to do so again to pay for a top priority of first lady Michelle Obama.
.
The House will soon consider an $8 billion child-nutrition bill that’s at the center of the first lady’s “Let’s Move” initiative. Before leaving for the summer recess, the Senate passed a smaller version of the legislation that is paid for by trimming the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as the food-stamp program.

The proposed cuts would come on top of a 13.6 percent food-stamp reduction in the $26 billion Medicaid and education state-funding bill that President Obama signed this week.
...

[SandyfromMO]

I think Michelle needs to look at her own figure before she tells the American people what to eat.

[jk]

It is amazing to me how ridiculous the first lady is willing to make herself look in her doomed quest to be thought of as relevant. If she wants to declare war on something, how about she start with her husband's quest to destroy the US economy.

[Mark]

Start at home hippo-crit - oh wait you are a Demo and therefore do as you say not as you do.

[tom]

Blah, blah, blah. I wish these signs would go up at every speech these hypocrites make.

[DrBobNM]

love the article. Didn't you guys used to be liberals?

anyway, just another case of where government wants to tell the People what to do, what to think, and now what to eat, because we are too STUPID to figure it out on ourselves.

If she can't convince her husband to to the right healthy things, how does she get off trying to dictate to us?

Everything in moderation, that is the key.

[doodle]

Listen King and Queen Obama, If I want guidance for you on what I should eat, I will ask for it. It seems to me you could start eating more like you preach. Oh, that's right, we are supposed to eat bugs, like the UN suggests.
BEEF that's whats for supper!!

[Nancy]

What the first lady is saying is actually correct. Americans have the worst diet of any western country I have ever been to. To see her husband gobbing it down is a bad example. This is a fat nation full of fat people.

[Abby Gail]

When liberals like Michelle Obama view obesity all they can see is a McDonalds menu, greedy, irresponsible business and a desperate need for more of other people’s money to fix what liberal policies largely created in the first place.

[Dave]

Who the hell are you to tell us what to eat! Get off your high horse and help the homeless! We (yes the people you are here to represent not control) do not wish for you to represent our eating habits!

[BpSitRep]

Stay out of my ktichen.

[YANO10306]

Is that RuPaul?

[Tom]

Get your own husband to stop smoking then come back and tell me how to lead my family.

[Tony Stella]

They eat Lobster ?????????

[Dana]

The pictures are great and are proof that eating out once in awhile is fine for a normally active person. There's nothing wrong with going to a restaurant and splurging on calories for an occasional treat. Please do not take my french fries from me!
Instead of trying to influence private industry, I think what Mrs. Obama needs to do is to focus on getting the Smoker-in-Chief to give up all forms of tobacco. I read the other day that 1 in 5 American adults are smokers. Instead of trying to influence everyone's diet, why doesn't the First Family lead an 'assault' on demon nicotine?

[Jaime]

Is this what an elite Ivy League education and too damned much time on your hands leads to? Please, lady, stay the hell out of my kitchen and don't tell the chef how to cook. What you serve your family is your business. But perhaps it is now apparent why ole' Barry feels the need to get out of the WH so often to eat fried chicken, waffles, pizza, etc. Apparently all he gets is small portions of tasteless overpriced crap when he eats at home.

I wonder if the girls have Twinkie wrappers under their beds that Mamma doesn't know about?

[Jason]

"The first lady doesn't mind ordinary families eating out on special occasions." Why thank-you Michelle for allowing my ordinary family and ordinary me to eat out once in a while! If your husband would stop trying to take more of the money I worked for to give it to people who don't want to work then maybe I can afford to eat out 1/100th as much as your family! We all can’t go to Spain or have a private chef flown in from Chitown to eat healthy on the American tax-payer's dollar. It’s not so much that you do this it is the out-of-touch attitude of "well if I am doing it then everyone else needs to do it" that makes it annoying. Let us make up our own mind and leave our restaurants alone!

[MommyPatriot1]

I've never been so REPULSED. Pardon me while I loose my lunch!

[Nelson]

Mrs. Obama,
Do us all a favor and close your mouth. Instead of lecturing privately owned restaurants on their choice menus. If you really want to combat child Obesity why don’t you try getting the Federal Government to provide safe and more nutritional lunches for our kids in public schools? A recent study by USA Today concluded that McDonalds’s food is more SAFE and NUTRITIOUS than the food being served to our children in public schools. Until then, Please Shut-Up…….

[Fights4Freedom]

What is it with these Libs and their need to run my and everyone else's lives? I want them out of my home, my job, my menus and most importantly my and my family's lives. They do not know better than I do what is and isn't good for me and mine. If you are too stupid to know these things or even try to figure it out, you should never get married or have children for somebody else to have to take care of. ENOUGH ALREADY!

Moreover, who in the hell elected her food NAZI anyways? Why doesn't she start at home with the hubby and all of his bad habits?

[Tom Highway]

They Obamas have already killed the health industry... automobiles.... housing.... banking.... energy... gulf tourism... Maybe they can kill the restaurant industry, too?

[DesertDaveB]

How have I lived so long without Michelle looking out for me?

[Patricia Hynds]

The first lady, as well as her husband and his administration should stick to the duties authorized by Federal mandate and leave our personal lives alone. If they did not want to control our health care along with every other freedom we USED to enjoy, we all would be better off! Enough with the "plantation mentality" already! God gave each of us dominion over all the earth, the socialist, democrat or progressive parties did not.

[Dr. Snidley]

These hypocrites occupying the White House are nothing but imposters who pretend to hate the rich, but are living high on the hog while they've got the chance. They are nothing but uppity negroes who need to be sent to the fields to enjoy all the watermelons they can grow. I hope before they leave Michelle gets her buck teeth fixed!

[H. Johnson]

Who care what Ms. Obama thinks...about anything. First Lady is a default position, you get it by being married to the POTUS. Ms. Obama has little experience at doing...anything and certainly is not qualified to establish any sort of diet plan for anyone, except for the dumbass (that'd be Mr. Obama) that married her.

[George Johnson]

What gives her the right to tell me what to eat anyway?? This is one thing I HATE about liberals. Stay out of MY LIFE!!! You have NO RIGHT TO IT!! Mind your own damn business! Tell YOUR family what to eat, and leave MINE alone! They always want to tell other people how to live, but when it comes down to it, THEY never live that way. It's always "Do as I say, and NOT as you see ME do!" Just STFU woman! Worry about your own damn husbands SMOKING!!! What a weakling that can't quit.

[Richard of JAX]

Yes that is correct, if you eat salt you can not lower your eyebrows, just like Mrs. President

[TravlnTexan]

"Mrs. Obama expressed concern that Americans are now spending more money on food purchased and/or eaten outside the home".................well maybe if your husband would LOWER taxes more mothers would be able to stay home and prepare home-cooked meals....but ooops that goes against the "it takes a village" progressive mentality. What's a FLOTUS to do? Topping it off are the PESKY PHOTOGRAPHERS snapping all those photos of the FIRST FAMILY indulging themselves in all that UNHEALTHY foods. Oh my, Oh my....it's so difficult RULING the masses.

[fay]

And she's trying to tell me what to eat?

[Teresa in Fort Worth, TX]

It really is just too bad that Mrs. Obama hasn't done her homework; if she had, she would know that it is more than likely that the reduction of fat in the American diet over the past few decades - coupled with the increased amount of grains that are now recommended - is what ACTUALLY has led to our increased obesity and diabetes rates.

What she is advocating is going to make the situation worse, not better.

But more than that, HOW DARE THE GOVERNMENT presume to tell me what I can spend my money on and what I can and cannot eat? I'd be willing to bet that all of that lobster that she's been eating on the taxpayer's dime was served with full-fat butter, and that all of the desserts that she's been eating weren't low-calorie, either.

Quit trying to be my parents - I already have a set, thank you very much; and I've been taking care of myself for quite a while now without your help.....

[Leonard Flemsley]

I'm going to go eat a cheeseburger.

[JimO]

Now you are into MY food? GO AWAY!!!

[Pete B.]

Nothing on this earth is more opposed to the concept of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness than the American elected class.

Hate does not even begin to describe how I feel about these "professional" crooks, narcissists, and pedophiles.

It was an epic failure for everyone when the 911 terrorists chose the Twin Towers over Capital Hill.

Maybe next time the Islamists can do us all a favor and kill the real enemies of Freedom.

[Miles Monroe]

The pinnacle of hypocrisy. Do as I say, not as I do. The sooner we run these two out of Washington D.C. in 2012 the better off our country will be.

[Jeff]

Wow this makes me angry. Wow. This woman needs to sit the _ down and shut up.

[nationalobserver]

Another reminder from Michelle that "government knows best".

While a few may applaud her attempt to "re-program" the masses, it is clear that her gentle chiding of restaurant fare will at some point morph into MANDATORY government regulations, telling the peons that they must order a side of apples to complement their mandatory health insurance purchase.

You can bet that while the masses are wolfing down their apple slices, she and her elitist friends will be eating lobster that is drowning in butter.

[Kathryn]

How hypocritical this is...these pictures do not reflect one iota of what she is spewing...this is do what I say, not what I do....!!!!