HealthOnTrack

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has urged President Obama not to eat junk food in public and to rather indulge in burgers, pizzas and hotdogs in the privacy of his own home. The PCRM is a non-profit advocacy group that consists of doctors, researchers and dieticians that promotes preventative medicine, particularly good nutrition and food logistics, conducts clinical research, and ensures that high clinical ethical standards are met.

The PCRM has sent a request to the White House asking them not to stage any photo opportunities that show President Obama indulging in a junk food diet. The argument is that food related photo opportunities that involve the president, vice-president, the first family, and other prominent White House member, go against government efforts to curb junk food addictions. It is a well known fact that fresh food transported by refrigerated couriers is far healthier than highly processed junk foods. Junk food health dangers are varied and can contribute to cancer, obesity and early death. Because of these junk food health risks, the President and other top government representatives should act as role models during public events and consume healthy foods.

To strengthen their junk food argument and to urge the president to ban himself from eating unhealthy foods, The PCRM has mailed a petition to the White House. Included in the petition are research articles that highlight junk food disadvantages and the benefits of fresh food delivered via temperature controlled transport. The petition charges the President and major parties for staging photographs that send unhealthy messages to the public. So far, the petition has over 1,200 signatures. The photo opportunities that the group is referring to in particular is President Obama consuming hot dogs with David Cameron at a baseball game and eating burgers with former Russian President Dimitry Medvedev. The junk food petition can be signed by visiting the PCRM site.