Reader Jen let me know about a new bill proposed in Washinton state in which “sugary soft drinks would have to be removed from kid meal menus.” To be clear, restaurants could still sell as many sugary drinks as they want to kids, but the kid’s menu could only list drinks including water, milk, and milk substitutes. If you think that this sounds like a useless political stunt, then you and I have something in common.
According to the bill’s sponsor, Senator Marco Liias (D), the goal is to “reduce childhood obesity and diabetes cases.” What he doesn’t say is if there is any evidence at all to suggest that this bill will do anything to achieve those goals – I certainly can’t find any.
It matters that he has no reason to believe that this bill will achieve its stated goals, because there are downsides. Banning things in an effort to keep kids from being fat further stigmatizes fat kids. It also gives thin kids something to blame them for. Pretty soon, the suggestion is that we should just restrict what fat kids are allowed to have (remember that time that Mississippi tried to make it illegal to serve fat people in restaurants? I do.)
As many experts have pointed out, restriction sets kids up for unhealthy relationships with foods. This is significant in the context of his “prevent diabetes” thing since research has shown there are as many as twice as many kids with eating disorders than diabetes, and eating disorders are far more deadly.
This may seem like a small thing, but it is part of a larger, very dangerous trend. In a decade we saw a 119% increase in eating disorder hospitalizations in kids UNDER TWELVE. That is straight-up horrifying, but not surprising. We put fetuses on restriction diets, and then give babies low calorie formula, schools grade kids on their weight, people who claim to be experts on kids’ health don’t feel the need to have any evidence before implementing interventions on fat kids, we perform medical experiments on fat kids without informed consent or permission and amputate their stomachs. The outcomes are tragic and, more tragically, exactly what we should have expected.
Controlling what restaurants are allowed to put on their menus in an (at best) ill-advised, fatphobic effort to control the body size of kids (or people of any age) with absolutely no evidence that it will improve health (or control body size,) but with evidence that it has a distinct possibility of perpetuating eating disorders is a terrible idea no matter how many political points can be scored through legislative fat bashing.
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“…the possibility of perpetuating eating disorders is a terrible idea no matter how many political points can be scored through legislative fat bashing.”
Hell, yeah! If either politicians or fatphobes had any shame, they’d need some salve for that burn.
And y’know, even though I realize it’s a slippery slope leading straight into a dystopian septic tank… there’s a dark part of me that wishes the Food Police would actually succeed in getting their boogeyfoods banned just so I could enjoy watching them BSOD when, ten years into their dictatorship, there’s still fatties everywhere. Of course, since it would also result in all those awful things you mentioned (hunger, eating disorders, more/more severe oppression of fat people as we’re blamed for the “intervention” not working and for any splash damage suffered by thin people), “junk” food bans are still 100% unethical and I would never support one. It’s just one of those mean thoughts you can’t help having sometimes.
This is also likely to backfire. If you tell people they can’t have the thing, they want the thing even more. Even if they didn’t want it before.
Thanks Ragen. Bet it gets further than gun laws. Idaho just passed a concealed carry permit that means everybody can have a concealed weapon on them everywhere at all times. How’d ya like to be on that pre flight check in line…
The thing with restriction and fat taxing reminds me of something I read years ago: “Gluttony is the sin (deadly) reserved for those a society does not wish to feed.”
Terribly obvious, and they do not care.
So what if I take a kid to one of these restaurants, order myself a sugary drink, then give it to the kid? Will the waitstaff run up and dash it from mine or the kid’s hands? Do I get a ticket from the food police? Will they kick us out of the restaurant?
It hasn’t gone anywhere. “Do Gooders” reely need to step back and cool their jets. If you don’t want YOUR kid drinking soda, make it YOUR rule, don’t expect a restaurant to do your parenting. Let alone the state. Very preachy. They just KNOW they KNOW what is best for everyone and expect to legislate their biases and values, no matter how “well intentioned” you can’t do that.
One of the women proponents of the legislation said she “Didn’t want to have that fight at a restaurant” over soda. Jesse if it is that bad, don’t go out!
control control control…
Just let it alone and be satisfied with your superiority in raising your kids ‘sugar free’. Its earth shatteringly important! 😉