WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - Word to the Wise: Childhood Obesity

Episode Date: April 9, 2025

What should "an occasional treat" entail?

Hello, I'm Ariel McDowell here with a word to the wise. Let me be the first to say it is absolutely okay to have a treat sometimes. It's even important. However, childhood obesity rates in the U.S. are nearing 20 percent, and this is partly because we confuse dangerous behavior with having a treat. I've worked in the food industry for years, and in that time, I've observed behavior that should be a never, not a sometimes. For example, your seven-year-old's body cannot handle three chocolate chip pancakes with coke refills and a honey biscuit. That meal has no. no protein paired with obscene caloric content. That's a never-ever kind of meal, not a sometimes kind of meal.

The body can handle occasional carbs and sugar. That's okay. But it can't pair obscene serving sizes with no nutritional content. A good treat looks like a slice of apple pie after a home-cooked cheeseburger and carrots. Go fight childhood obesity. It doesn't require being crunchy. This has been a word to the wise on Radio Free Hillsdale 101.1.7 FM.