Wellness News: Fat Princess and L.A. Fast Food Ban

This morning I read a few health articles on Yahoo News: Fat Princess Game and L.A. Fast Food Ban. I thought I'd share my insights on these with you, I found them to be quite interesting.

The Fat Princess game is a new offering from Sony. In it, you fatten up your princess with cake so your enemy will have a tougher time whisking her off to their home base. Feminists are already up in arms, but it has been revealed that the lead art director of this game is, in fact, female.

I like this idea. Although the look of the game is super cutsey, and is one I'd probably never play, I think it is a great idea. Our heroine doesn't need to be a stick figure, or fit in with society's view of how she should look. Come on, Princess Peach could stand to gain a few pounds, admit it. I'm glad there's a princess out there who is comfortable with her love of cake, and is not afraid to show it. Granted, for better wellness, you need to eat a diet with more variety, but self-acceptance is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. This gal's got it.

In L.A., the city council is looking to ban fast-food establishments in the most impovrished areas of the city, citing health and obesity concerns. While I am glad for their concern, I have to wonder what they're going to eat at all: "South LA residents lack healthy food options, including grocery stores, fresh produce markets — and full-service restaurants with wait staff and food prepared to order." Well, if they won't have fast food restaurants either, all that's left is snacks from the gas stations — hardly a viable alternative for those trying to eat better.

Assuming that the poorest among us have the extra cash to eat out at all, do you think they'll be able to afford to eat a Double Quarter Pounder meal every day? Hardly. I come from a rather poor background, and even trips to fast-food places were usually reserved for pay day, not a daily event. Dollar menu items are a more likely candidate, and due to their "value", they typically have less calories than their Meal Deal counterparts.

In fact, I believe that the typical middle-class person has more to fear from fast food restaurants. With the high-paced lifestyle that so many people are living, it is far easier for them to drive over during their lunch hour and get a Heart Attack Sack to-go. More importantly, they have the income to sustain such a lifestyle, at least in the short-term.

Only educating people on how to change their eating habits, and how to make the life changes to sustain healthy eating, will improve the rates of obesity in America. Banning fast-food restaurants will not help people change their lives. If they want their Whopper, they will find a way to get it.

After all, the princess has you leading her minions to retrieve her cake. She doesn't even need to leave her castle.

("Double Quarter Pounder" and "Whopper" are trademarks of McDonald's and Burger King, respectively.)