Olympic legend Michael Phelps will appear on boxes of the Kellogg's brand sugar cereal, drawing sharp criticism from health experts worried about the message he'll be sending to children across America.... "I would not consider Frosted Flakes the food of an Olympian," said nutritionist Rebecca Solomon of Mount Sinai Medical Center.... "I would rather see him promoting Fiber One. I would rather see him promoting oatmeal. I would even rather see him promoting Cheerios.".... The announcement yesterday that Phelps, 23, winner of a record eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, would grace Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes boxes instead of the traditional athlete's choice of Wheaties left many perplexed. Frosted Flakes has three times the amount of sugar as Wheaties and 1/3rd the fiber.
OK, y'all...let's get something straight, shall we? This is still a free country, which means you're free to make choices...even if those choices might be considered "bad" by "experts". Don't get me wrong; I wouldn't buy Kellogg's Frosted Flakes if they were the last cereal on Earth and I was on the verge of starvation. Any "food" that seemingly is candy dressed up as a "nutritious" breakfast cereal is nothing that I want any part of. Of course, that's my choice to make...and if enough Americans make that choice, then eventually Kellogg's Frosted Flakes will go the way of the dinosaur. The fact that Michael Phelps is endorsing this candy breakfast cereal is to me only indicative of the remunerative power of Olympic gold medals. Hey, if people want to throw large sums of money at Phelps, who are we to tell him that he shouldn't be taking the money?
Perhaps instead of focusing their righteous indignation against Phelps, these so-called "experts" might do better by trying to convince parents of the importance of making sound nutritional decisions for their children. Michael Phelps is not the one putting bowls of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes in front of children; parents are the ones with that responsibility. All Phelps is doing is what you or I would do under similar circumstances: taking the money and running. Don't tell me that if someone from Kellogg's came to you and said, "Hey, we'll throw a few million dollars at you; all you have to do is wear swim trunks while we take a few pictures and then slap them on cereal boxes. 'Kay??"
I know what you're thinking..."Uh, no. That would really send a bad message to the children of this great nation. I think I'm going to just sit here in my trailer park in East Bumfuck, Utah, and bask in my own virtuousness while I revel in the righteousness of my vow of poverty." Yeah, right.... You and I both know that we'd be looking for our Speedos and a pen so we could sign the contract before the idjits came to their senses. Gimme a break, willya??
PARENTS need to take responsibility for what their children eat. PARENTS need to teach their children to make sensible decisions when it comes to nutrition. And PARENTS are the ones responsible for what goes into their shopping carts. Not Michael Phelps.
Get over yourselves....
