Michelle Obama's Possible Teachable Moment in the Complexities of Orthorexia Nervosa

Before ascending to the White House as First Lady, Michelle Obama had already demonstrated a discomforting ease in sharing that her husband was "too snore-y and stinky," Afterward, she displayed an equally awkward comfort in embarrassing another member of her family. Through yet another graceless TMI moment, she expressed her personal anguish over having been told that her daughter was gaining weight.

Although two years earlier, America's First Dad already told the world that his daughter "Malia was getting a little chubby," Michelle said she hadn't even noticed the changes in her child. But because someone else had expressed the opinion that her daughter was getting fat it was suddenly time to make some much needed changes. Not only was she determined to regulate what her own children eat she is now obsessed with controlling the diets of an entire country. Of course she insists her war on food is 'for the children'. But could there be another motivation behind Michelle's health food mania?

According to the UK Telegraph, Californian Doctor Steven Bratman defined Orthorexia Nervosa as a "fixation on righteous eating". Until recently, where sufferers of anorexia and bulimia were commonly recognized there were so few cases of this new disorder that doctors simply tossed those displaying its unfamiliar symptoms under the catch-all label of "Ednos". Now that the disorder has been defined, experts say orthorexics make up such a significant proportion of the Ednos group that sufferers of this medical condition should be treated separately.

"I am definitely seeing significantly more orthorexics than just a few years ago," said Ursula Philpot, chair of the British Dietetic Association's mental health group. "Other eating disorders focus on quantity of food but orthorexics can be overweight or look normal. They are solely concerned with the quality of the food they put in their bodies, refining and restricting their diets according to their personal understanding of which foods are truly 'pure'.

Orthorexics have very rigid rules about eating and an obsession about which foods are "good" and "bad". Despite their stringent rituals of categorizing food into groups of acceptable and non-acceptable options orthorexics can also wind up becoming as malnourished as anorexics and bulimics. Additionally, while the act of imposing such intense dietary restrictions upon themselves causes them to feel proud of their "virtuous" behavior and gives them feelings of superiority the concept of eating itself becomes so stressful that their personal relationships suffer and they develop feelings of social isolation. Diagnosis of this newly identified eating disorder offers a new perspective on Michelle's response to France's first lady Carla Bruni regarding her feelings on Being America's First Lady; "Don't ask! It's hell. I can't stand it!"

In Feb. 2010, in order to reflexively combat her personal embarrassment of having someone outside of the family say she had a "chubby" daughter, Michelle launched a national vendetta against food with her "Let's Move" initiative. While she insists the program is an effort to combat what she sees as an epidemic of childhood obesity, Mrs. Obama also spear-headed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010, signed into law by her President husband. According to, Kathleen Sebelius, the bill heralded "a significant step forward in our effort to help America's children" to lose weight by "increasing the number of students eligible to enroll in school meal programs." According to the wisdom of the Secretary of Health and Human Services, "this legislation simultaneously tackles both hunger and the obesity levels currently affecting too many communities across this nation."

So which is it, are our children too fat or are they starving?

The contradictions in Mrs. Obama's many messages have yet to be questioned, addressed or explained. However, according to an New York Daily interview, an eating disorder activist and executive director of Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Disorder Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh said the First Mom's compulsive food commentary has "confused health and weight in a way that's very confusing for children and very confusing for parents." But the confusions and contradictions do not stop there.

While it is Mrs. Obama's opinion that we have been "programmed" by taste and advertising to eat many things that the government and health professionals know are not healthy for their bodies, we ignorant Americans are salvageable. We simply need to be retrained, reprogrammed and legislated to make the better eating choices of which she approves.

In 2010, Michelle told a group of restaurateurs that, "As humans, we are programmed to crave sugary, fatty, salty foods," adding that, "as people who work to meet those needs" she knew it was " tempting to respond by creating products that are sweeter, richer and saltier than ever before. The more of these foods people eat," she continued in her scolding, "the more they're accustomed to that taste, and after a while, those unhealthy foods become a permanent part of their eating habits." Of course, she failed to mention that, like them, she too once had a lucrative career in selling the junk food she now demonizes.

A few months after her husband was elected to the U.S. Senate, despite having zero experience, Mrs. Obama "hustled" a seat on the corporate Board of Directors of TreeHouse Foods, Inc. For her on-the-job training the company forked over $96,000 for the privilege of putting her name and face on their literature and handed her an additional $7,200 in yearly stock options. Who is Treehouse Foods? Think Keebler Elf. They are one of the leading junk-food suppliers of; cheese sauces, powdered soft drink mixes, puddings, jams, jellies and other processed foods to Wal-Mart and the major supplier of fast food products for McDonalds.

In July of 2010, when asked about the contradiction presented by her war on fat and the President's penchant for unhealthy fast food, Mrs. Obama was quick to dismiss the double standard. "I love it more than he does," she said and she reiterated that the Let's Move campaign is "not about saying no to ice cream and french fries." For a woman who is frequently seen eating ice cream with her family and who takes her personal staff to a burger joint for a quick lunch she seems oddly comfortable in telling the rest of us that "having a piece of cake at a birthday party is fine as long as the majority of a day's intake is healthy."

At the Obama's first State Dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao the multi-course feast contained around 2,900 calories per person. The star of the dinner menu that evening was Wagyu beef. Wagyu is the king of unsaturated fattiness and is second only to foie gras for richness and caloric content. This might explain why Barack Obama was advised after his first presidential physical to add lowering his cholesterol levels in addition to stepping-up his smoking cessation efforts. It is strange that the Obama's see no conflict in telling us to tighten our belts while they dine on the most expensive cut of steak in the world.

Although the efforts of our First Lady to bring attention to the plight of childhood obesity are commendable, it is not her place, nor that of the United States Government, to interfere with or usurp entirely the decisions of parents in how to raise their children. Reiterations of her husband's call for the rest of us to tighten our belts might be less offensive were they not made between frequent lavish family vacations . And, as Mrs. Obama continues to initiate laws to regulate the dietary preferences of the average American citizen, her self-righteous admonitions would ring a lot less hypocritical if she'd grab a calculator and add up the calories she has been known to consume in just one meal at taxpayers expense .

Sources:

"Mrs. Obama gets personal about Barack", CNN

Jim Treacher, " Michelle Obama to women planning a pregnancy: ''¹..."No fatties ", The Daily Caller

Andrew Hough , "Health food junkies causing more 'orthorexic eating disorders cases'", The Telegraph Ali Hale, "Orthorexia: Taking Healthy Eating Too Far", Diet Blog

Peter Allen, "'It's hell. I can't stand it!' Carla Bruni reveals what Michelle Obama REALLY thinks of being First Lady", Mail Online

Lee Ferran, "Michelle Obama: 'Let's Move' Initiative Battles Childhood Obesity", ABC Good Morning America

"Let's Move"

Office of the Press Secretary, "President Obama Signs Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 Into Law", White House. gov

Rosemary Black, "Michelle Obama under fire for mentioning daughter Malia's weight during obesity remarks", New York Daily News

Sean Hannity Program, "Michelle Obama's Hypocritical War on Junk Food", FOX News

Tim Kelly, "Michelle Obama in EXCLUSIVE interview: 'Healthy eating is not about saying no to ice cream and fries'", Parent Dish.com

Andrew Malcom, " Top of the Ticket " The Los Angeles Times

"Obamas Enjoy Ice Cream on Family Vacation", Video; The Wall Street Journal

Lynn Sweet, "First Lady Michelle Obama lunches with Team MO at Five Guys in DuPont Circle" The Chicago Sun Times

Clifford Bryan, "Michelle Obama 101: How much weight has Michelle Obama gained since the election? (POLL-SLIDESHOW)" Examiner.com

Associated Press, "Doc Declares Obama in "Excellent Health" CBS News

Press Trust of India, "US to spend $200 mn a day on Obama's Mumbai visit" New Deli TV John Dietrich, "The Obamas: Conspicuous Sacrifice vs. Conspicuous Consumption" American Thinker