Full Version: Healthy Muppets
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In the upcoming seasons of the Muppets, those lovable characters from Sesame Street, new themes will be introduced about health and living a healthy lifestyle. This has been done in response to the growing incidence of obesity in children.
Questions:
Do you think this will help children learn about what to eat and why to eat it?
Do you think this can help reduce some of the obeistiy, or are the problems more environmental (ie. parents eating habit, SES bracket, ect.)
The Journal New.com
QUOTE
Research done by the educational team exemplified the power that Muppets have, Truglio says, particularly the wildly popular Elmo, the red Muppet with the personality and voice of a typical 3-year-old child.
In one study, a group of children were given pictures of either a chocolate bar or broccoli. When asked which they would eat, it was no surprise that most preferred the chocolate bar. But when the researchers paired Elmo with the broccoli and an unfamiliar red muppet with the chocolate bar, opinions quickly changed, Truglio says.
In one study, a group of children were given pictures of either a chocolate bar or broccoli. When asked which they would eat, it was no surprise that most preferred the chocolate bar. But when the researchers paired Elmo with the broccoli and an unfamiliar red muppet with the chocolate bar, opinions quickly changed, Truglio says.
QUOTE
"They don't really have this concept down. They think French fries are healthy because they are potatoes. So when we talk about potatoes, we feature sweet potatoes and label them as healthy, (explaining) why they're healthy and what they do for your body," Truglio says.
QUOTE
Every other episode will be devoted to health themes, but will still include standard "A-B-C, 1-2-3" educational lessons, which are usually masked as songs, games and stories.
Questions:
Do you think this will help children learn about what to eat and why to eat it?
Do you think this can help reduce some of the obeistiy, or are the problems more environmental (ie. parents eating habit, SES bracket, ect.)
The Journal New.com
I think this will help, to a certain extent. Raising awareness at an early age is a good think, in my opinion.
The problem is that kids rarely have an input on what their parents give them for dinner. They can sometimes have a subtle impact, but the parents' need for convenience is often the chief force involved.
The problem underlying obese children is that the level of activity for children is dropping due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that we lead. Kids don't play sports in pick up games the way they did when I was young. Without exercise, everyone would be obese.
This is one piece of the puzzle, not an entire solution. A good first step, if you will.
The problem is that kids rarely have an input on what their parents give them for dinner. They can sometimes have a subtle impact, but the parents' need for convenience is often the chief force involved.
The problem underlying obese children is that the level of activity for children is dropping due to the increasingly sedentary lifestyle that we lead. Kids don't play sports in pick up games the way they did when I was young. Without exercise, everyone would be obese.
This is one piece of the puzzle, not an entire solution. A good first step, if you will.
Do you think this will help children learn about what to eat and why to eat it? I think this is a nice idea, and children might have a slightly better grasp on nutrition and why they should eat better foods ( Popeye was probably the trailblazer here...The Wiggles sing "fruit salad, yummy, yummy", too ). Ultimately, the kids will eat what their parents give them, and the best thing for them to do is turn off the television and start doing other more active things.
Do you think this can help reduce some of the obesity, or are the problems more environmental (ie. parents eating habit, SES bracket, ect.) Problems are almost entirely environmental. One show might endorse healthy eating habits, but every 15 minutes in between, a commercial is persuasively peddling cookies and candy....which the public schools will later supply them even if their parents don't.
The elmo age bracket ends at about age three. Even my three year old thinks it's too babyish. It's a nice thought, but it won't do anything to stop childhood nutrition problems. Kids want what tastes good, and if parents give it to them they will eat it. I remember a post of Hugo's a long while back on some thread that explained, "If it tastes good it is probably bad for you. If you put it in a bowl and the dog won't eat it, you can have as much as you want".
Succinct and rather accurate. A child will not usually choose the broccoli spear over the chocolate cake...unless the parent makes them eat the broccoli first (in order to receive a little cake), they get into healthy eating habits, and then eat the broccoli of their own volition later because they know it is good for them. This is something that even most adults in this country don't seem to understand, so I can't imagine a two year old grasping it. Similar measures certainly don't curb adult obesity....we're inundated with "healthy" diets and beautiful people daily in the media.
Do you think this can help reduce some of the obesity, or are the problems more environmental (ie. parents eating habit, SES bracket, ect.) Problems are almost entirely environmental. One show might endorse healthy eating habits, but every 15 minutes in between, a commercial is persuasively peddling cookies and candy....which the public schools will later supply them even if their parents don't.
The elmo age bracket ends at about age three. Even my three year old thinks it's too babyish. It's a nice thought, but it won't do anything to stop childhood nutrition problems. Kids want what tastes good, and if parents give it to them they will eat it. I remember a post of Hugo's a long while back on some thread that explained, "If it tastes good it is probably bad for you. If you put it in a bowl and the dog won't eat it, you can have as much as you want".
Succinct and rather accurate. A child will not usually choose the broccoli spear over the chocolate cake...unless the parent makes them eat the broccoli first (in order to receive a little cake), they get into healthy eating habits, and then eat the broccoli of their own volition later because they know it is good for them. This is something that even most adults in this country don't seem to understand, so I can't imagine a two year old grasping it. Similar measures certainly don't curb adult obesity....we're inundated with "healthy" diets and beautiful people daily in the media.
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