A New Perspective on Obesity

A few days ago I read the following article online stating that The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle is going to be used in a child anti-obesity campaign. http://www.aolhealth.com/2011/03/09/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-anti-obesity-campaign/ I love this book, so much so that it was the theme of my children’s nursery. I think it’s a natural connection, after all the caterpillar only got a stomache after he ate one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, on slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon.  After having one nice green leaf he felt much better.

The past few days I have felt the need to blog, which is different than the feeling that I want to blog. There have been no thoughts yearning to be typed, which is how my blogs develop. That all changed yesterday when I was at the clinic and went into a new unisex single bathroom. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It wasn’t the automatic soap, faucet, and paper towel dispenser that did it, although I still find that setup fascinating. It was the instant feeling that I had entered Wonderland and shrunk down to the size of an 18-month old. At least that’s what I imagine an 18-month old’s perspective of a “normal” bathroom to be. See, the toilet and its seat were obese. As I sat down I thought about the article on The Hungry Caterpillar and I thought, “This is what a toddler who is toilet training must feel like.” I had no camera to take a photo, but at the same time I was happy that obese individuals who were visiting the clinic had a comfortable place to “relieve” themselves. http://www.worldplumbinginfo.com/article/specialty-toilet-available-commercial-use

Next time I will use the traditional bathroom and leave that one open for someone who truly needs the privacy, and I will opt for the toilet that I don’t feel like will swallow me or that I will fall in. And NO neither of my children were toilet trained at 18-months old.