Everybody's favorite blue Sesame Street monster who inhales tons of cookies will soon become a more health-conscious American citizen. That's right, Cookie Monster is going on a diet. Don't worry, he will not be eating low-carb bread, bunless hamburgers or whatever stupid Atkins-friendly options there are nowadays. Instead, he will be decreasing his cookie intake and will incorporate fruits and vegetables into his daily food regimen. Cookies will no longer be \an anytime food,"" but rather ""a sometimes food.""
The people at Sesame Street believe that by modifying Cookie Monster's cookie consumption, children will learn that food needs to be eaten in moderation.
A bit of a stretch? Probably.
The show also plans on making public-service announcements with political figures such as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton. Both will be promoting healthy eating habits and teaching the muppets to exercise.
Sure, it's a good idea for Sesame Street to tell kids that being healthy involves eating right and exercising daily, but there are better ways to go about this. We don't need political endorsements for this eat-less-cookies crusade. And we sure as hell don't need a Cookie Monster who is watching his figure.
Can he really even be called Cookie Monster anymore? Eating a cookie once in a while does not make one a cookie monster of any sort. Now he just seems to be a regular blue monster that generally eats pretty healthy and has a few cookies when someone lets him. Maybe we should refer to him as the Healthy Lifestyle Monster.
Poor guy. Stripped of his identity. His one true love withheld from him. And for what reason? What is this really teaching children watching the show? Not much.
I watched Sesame Street as a kid and never once did I think, ""Cookie Monster eats a lot of cookies, why can't I?"" Most children understand the humor in the ridiculous amount of cookies that Cookie Monster is able to consume. I mean, he eats them by the plateful! He's a big furry monster who lives off of cookies. Hence his name.
It is a parent's responsibility to teach their children about nutrition and healthy habits, not Cookie Monster's. Parents need to be active in their children's lives and make the right decisions for them and not rely on a monster to tell them the health benefits of eating in moderation.
It's true that obesity is one of the leading causes of preventable deaths. Americans are getting fatter by the second and are literally eating themselves to death. Obesity rates among children have more than doubled since the early 1970s according to the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. An astonishing 15 percent of children in the U.S. are now overweight. Obviously this is becoming a serious epidemic that needs to be addressed, but Cookie Monster as the spokesperson is not the way to do it.
I think the US was on the right track in trying to ban television advertisements to curb skyrocketing obesity rates.
It is by no means a cure-all solution but it sure would be beneficial since children watch so much television nowadays (which also contributes to rising obesity rates). They are constantly bombarded with commercials promoting foods such as double-stuffed Oreos, cheeseburger Lunchables, chocolate Poptarts, fruit snacks ... the list goes on forever. By prohibiting these messages from infiltrating children's homes, eating habits might be improved. It might not be such a battle to get children to eat what is good for them since they won't be constantly thinking about all the junk they would rather be eating.
There are other ways to decrease obesity rates in America without depriving Cookie Monster of cookies.
So Cookie Monster, put down that carrot stick and continue scarfing down your chocolate chip cookies before you become grouchy like your good friend Oscar. After all, there aren't too many Cookie Monsters in this world.
Kat is a junior majoring in psychology. E-mail her at krpeterson@wisc.edu.
