Sarah Palin took a shot at Michelle Obama during Sunday’s episode of her reality TV show, “Sarah Palin’s Alaska,” alleging the first lady’s anti-obesity campaign attempts to deprive Americans of dessert.
While searching for s’mores ingredients on a family camping trip, Palin remarked: “Where are the s’mores ingredients? This is in honor of Michelle Obama, who said the other day we should not have dessert.”
Mrs. Obama has been a key proponent of an initiative to improve children’s health by encouraging better diets and sufficient exercise. In May she announced her “Let’s Move” program, which promoted dessert alternatives, among other dietary suggestions.
One in 3 American children is overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other illnesses. Obesity is even more prevalent among black and Hispanic children. Some public health experts say today’s children are on track to live shorter lives than their parents.
But Palin has maintained that Obama’s effort to combat child obesity — which was recently aided by the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act — is one that seeks to take away “God-given rights to make our own decisions.”
During an appearance on Laura Ingraham’s radio program last month, Palin complained: “Instead of a government thinking that they need to take over and make decisions for us according to some politician or politician’s wife priorities, just leave us alone, get off our back.”
