Consuming more calories than you use makes you fat. That’s a fact, Jack. Figuring out where these calories come from, OK, that’s a noble endeavor, but let’s not pretend there’s anything secret going on here. Like, you see this graphic here? It’s the winner of some Michelle Obama-headed design contest to help folks figure out how to best fight childhood obesity. And you’ll see the PlayStation completely demonized, as if Sony itself is somehow responsible for little kids packing on the pounds.
The chart, part of the Let’s Move program (and you’ll want to see the full-res version), highlights a few bad guys, including the use of high fructose corn syrup in soda, the launch of Super Size-sized foods at McDonalds, the increase in screen-watching hours, and, yes, the launch of the Sony PlayStation.
Surely Nintendo and Microsoft are thrilled with the award-winning chart.
And while it’s easy to say something like, “Well, it’s up to the parents to be parents, and to provide healthy food for their kids, and to make sure their kids aren’t spending every waking hour in front of their Sony PlayStation” how about this: it’s hard!
If Mommy and Daddy are working all day long to pay for a mortgage, they can’t exactly be there to cook a multi-course, healthy dinner for their kids. So, go to Wal-Mart, buy a bunch of microwaveable burgers (which are conveniently like 20 burgers for $10 or something ridiculous like that) and hope to God that the worst thing you have to worry about is their kid playing PlayStation in the evening and not stealing cars or doing drugs while breaking into 7-11s.
The point is, parents have it hard, too.