We've talked a great deal about America's obesity epidemic. Lots of things are causing our kids, in particular, to plump up. But the two latest to come to light are physicians and Fluffernutters.
That's right -- Fluffernutters! More about them in a bit.
You'd think physicians would be leading the fight against harmful practices that are turning our little ones into roly-poly piglets. But hospitals and physicians' organizations surveyed by the Washington Post say children's doctors are actually making the problem worse.
It seems that pediatricians just don't want to call fat kids fat, for fear of hurting the children's feelings or angering their parents. Some of the doctors say they're not really sure how to get growing kids to lose weight. They say insurance companies don't recognize obesity as a disease and won't pay for its treatment. So they call it something else.
Now, as for the Fluffernutter . . . . This is just about the favorite sandwich in the northeast region we call New England. The Fluffernutter is made from bread, peanut butter, and a sweet, sticky marshmallow spread called "Fluff". It's perhaps the most calorie-laden, fattening sandwich in history! Which is precisely why a Massachusetts state senator had the nerve to propose limiting the serving of Fluffernutters in schools to one day a week.
Well!! Not since New England's Minutemen patriots got the American Revolution going has there been such an outcry. Another state senator was so outraged that anyone would disparage the gooey Fluffernutter that she wants it named Massachusetts' official sandwich!
No wonder New England pediatricians don't want to break the news to fat patients that they're fat. The first thing they'd have to give up is . . . the Fluffernutter!
