The prez as health mag cover model
President Barack Obama seems to be talking health care reform everywhere these days. Tonight, he'll address a joint session of Congress. He's even on the cover of the October issue of Men's Health magazine, which hits newsstands next week, where he does discuss health care reform, but also takes on a range of health issues. (Sorry, ladies, unlike this mag's more typical cover models, his abs are hidden under a dignified suit and tie.)
Among the tidbits in the mag:
* Obama thinks a "sin tax" on soda and other sugary products "is an idea that we should be exploring." Still, he acknowledges that could spark a fight on Capitol Hill where "legislators from certain states that produce sugar or corn syrup are sensitive to anything that might reduce demand for those products." He adds that some people, understandably, don't want "Big Brother telling them what to eat or drink." Kids, he said, "drink way too much soda."
* Obama talks about his six-day-a-week workout schedule. "My blood pressure is pretty low, and I tend to be a healthy eater. So I probably could get away with cutting [my workouts] back a bit," he tells the mag. "The main reason I do it is to clear my head and relieve me of stress."
October's issue of Women's Health has an even more popular Obama in its pages: First Lady Michelle. She tells the mag how some of her healthy eating habits have their roots in her childhood, where money was always tight. Going to McDonald's was a reward, she said, but only on rare occasions. They got pizza on report card day and tiny scoops of ice cream, whenever they had it at all. The First Lady says: "Those values -- even though they were the result of economic circumstances -- were really good, and they created some pretty healthy boundaries about food."
And my favorite is when she talks about having dinner together as a family as often as possible (my own mother was a stickler for this growing up). "No matter what's going on, he sets aside that time," Mrs. Obama says. "Dinner is at 6:30 p.m., and he comes in, we sit down." She makes it sound just like dinner at your house. The Obamas say a blessing and "we have the tradition of just going around and talking about our days, the good and the bad aspects," she said.
Photo courtesy of Men's Health.
Comments
Hmmm. If you want to hold this guy up for a role model of health so be it. Workouts aren't the only thing he does to relieve stress. He's a smoker.
Posted by: Tiggerdack | September 9, 2009 9:05 AM
Ahhhhh. The love fest continues! Heck he's been on the cover of Time magazine 13 times in the past year. Can we please move on!
Posted by: MediaBias | September 9, 2009 12:23 PM
I can't get enough of President Obama. He is not perfect and he is the first to let us know thathe is human and flaws like the rest of us. We all have some kind of vice and he has stated he is trying to cut back on the smoking. Cut him some slack.
Posted by: Pamela Barnes | September 9, 2009 6:49 PM
I think the should just rename the magazine after him like they name everything after Kim Jung Il in North Korea.
Posted by: John Loki | September 12, 2009 8:04 PM