Super-sized lessons

I've been watching a new TLC show, Honey, We're Killing the Kids. The show has a nutrition and diet expert coming into homes to help the entire family eat healthier and excerise more - with the motivation for the parents of knowing their kids will live longer. She spends three weeks coming up with new goals for everyone to reach. Several things about the show fascinate me.

One is watching the kids, used to pretty much nothing but fast food and junk food, almost get sick eating healthy food. I can sort of see this, because I got addicted to fast food in college. It has taken me years to lose the desire to run by a fast food restaurant for lunch every day. I think it really does alter your taste buds, because I never really enjoyed eating fruit until now, but now I'm starting to crave nectarines and pears instead of Big Macs.

Another thing that just floors me is that the Moms on the show (not to be sexist, but they are always the ones doing the grocery shopping), have no clue what some of the fruits and vegetables on their healthy buying list even look like. They have to get the stockers at the grocery stores to help them find the asparagus.

And the Dads do so little to help. Not only with meal preparing and cleaning up, but with disciplining the kids. All the families on the shows I've watched seem to have that in common.

It's normally a pretty interesting outcome, although I wonder how long the transformation will keep up after the three weeks is over. Just doesn't seem like a long enough time to change years of bad eating and exercise habits. But I guess credit should be given to TLC for at least bringing the issue into the limelight a little more.