Michael Phelps and Kelloggs help kids become more active
September 27, 2008 by Jayson Hunter
I just saw a news story on how the Michael Phelps foundation and Kelloggs are teaming together to promote children being active.
Now I am all for increasing children's activity because there are more kids becoming overweight and obese every day. Children are now getting Type II diabetes, which used to be an adult only disease. They are coming into doctors offices with high cholesterol and heart problems at 12 years old.
What is happening to our kids?
Let me tell you what is happening. They sit and watch tv, play computer games and become couch potatoes by the time they reach puberty. They eat fast food, junk food and too much sugar all the while sitting on their butts doing nothing.
I applaud Michael Phelps and Kelloggs for wanting to increase kids activity level. I have a problem with one thing though.
The commercial shows Michael Phelps on the boxes of Corn Flakes, Frosted Flakes and Rice Krispie treats.
Now I am guessing Michael Phelps doesn't have much say in what products his face goes on, but Kelloggs I don't believe has any intention of making kids healthier. They just want to sell more of their high profit foods, which by the way are also unhealthy and full of sugar.
Shame on Kelloggs for trying to use a great Olympic icon to increase more sales of their sugary foods and decrease the overall health of children around the world.
I would love to hear about what you think on this subject. Leave your comments below and let me know what your thoughts are.
Yours in health
Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS
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winner Michael Phelps has agreed to endorse Kellogg’s (K) Frosted Flakes. You know frosted as in
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I'm appalled by Kellogg's ANYWAY, who promotes their "Special K Challenge" to loose weight/dress sizes and yet EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT I looked at with "Special K" on the box has high fructose corn syrup in it.
To give them the benefit of the doubt it's possible that I missed a product without it, but…. what liars! promoting "health" with HFCS? Get real.
TThank you for this information im also ashame of kellogs using phelp to promote their market and i think its unfair to the public.
I couldn't agree more…frosted flakes are hardly the nutirion of an olympian…it makes my blood boil to think of these huge international firms with muscle power only in their wallets, making our kids fatter and fatter and fatter…how much is it going to take to REALLY educate the general population at large to make better choices for themselves and their families…? Boxed cereals are dreadful, there's nothing good about them at all. Whatever happened to a cup of quaker oats, with some natural plain yoghurt, a dash of cinnamon, or a banana, or some natural honey or berries for sweetness, topped with nuts or seeds???!!! Much more filling. Much more nutritious. Unspeakably better.
You are the result of a lifetime of decisions…make the good ones!!!
Phelps should have more sense about who he sponsors but then the popular fast foods and sweet cereal makers probably offer more money than fruits and vegetable marketers. No wonder!
Parents need to be educated. They are the ones who buy the cereals and let their kids play with gameboys, not soccer balls. They are taking the easy way out and Kellogs knows that, Did anyone ask Phelps what he ate for breakfast when he was in training. I bet it wasn't frosted flakes.
It's a given that Kelloggs uses deceptive marketing to sell it's harmful, devitalized, denatured products to the unsuspecting youth in America. This is nothing new.
What gets me is the fact that Michael Phelps chose to align himself with Kelloggs.
He is a star; looked up to by millions of youth the world over.
He should have made better choices in regards to his sponsors.
Hi Jayson,
I'm not at all surprised to see an Olympic Medalist endorsing a breakfast cereal. We've seen them on Wheaties boxes for years, right? It's a coup for Kellog's because kids want to be like Michael, and it's a coup for Michael because he'll make ton of money. Unfortunately the losers are our kids. Unlike some of my fellow fitness pros, I'm not against breakfast cereals used in moderation, but I certainly don't recommend low/no fiber, high sugar, processed junk.
Michael should've thought about the implications to our youth before he said "yes" to Kellogs. I'm sure there are plenty of sponsors out there who would pay him to promote their healthier products.
I'd love to see Dole have Dara Torres sitting with a stack of fresh bananas and a headline along the lines of "Have you had your 6-9 fruits and veggies today?". But something tells me that's not gonna happen.
Jayson, people like you and me will always have more work to do because advertising and popular culture still miss the mark in the messages people are getting with regard to health and nutrition. They'll keep spewing out misleading information, and we'll have to keep being the clean-up guys running behind them correcting the fallacies and mixed messages.
Keep up the great work,
Becky Williamson
http://www.beckywilliamson.com
The use of celebrity endorsements is - obviously - proven to influence both children and adults. It has to do with perceived self-image. People want to be associated with anything that a "winner" is associated with.
Shame on Michael Phelps.
I am a young mom of four boys, I appreciate any information about the foods my kids are likely to want to eat. I don't think being negative or rude is necessary everyone has a different opinion or view of things. I personally think it's wrong to put something on a box just so a child will want it, regardless of what the product is!
I agree that the issue here is, by representing himself with this company Phelps has made a major stuff-up.
As has been said already kids will think that they can be like him if he is on the cereal box.
Thankfully my 3 year old son doesn't have cereal. I feed him fresh eggs or kangaroo steaks
Have I left the United States? Why would any one be appalled at Kellogg's. I don't get it. Kellogg's makes cereal…that's what they do. Some of it is sugary, some has High Fructose Corn Syrup and they pay Michael Phelps millions upon millions of dollars to say he eats it. I actually applaud Kellogg's for having the gonads to pay someone big buck's to help further their cause…Sell more cereal.
We need to look at Micheal Phelps and thanks but no thanks Michael. There are a hell of a lot better ways to cash in then on the backs of our fat kids.
I don't have kids but parents must be spewing when they see this and how it will influence their children. When you're in the supermarket you can see the battles that go on between parents and their children about what to put in the trolley. Kelloggs and the likes know this and target the advertising and children because inevitably they will get their way.
Pepsi and Coca-Cola do exactly the same, for Phelps see David Beckham. These companies will ultimately do some good but at the end of the day it is a marketing campaign and the profits will far exceed the cost of any true goodness given out to communites!
This and the big cheque will help satisfy the morals of the most honest superstar!
Michael Bach
http://www.thebodyplanner.com
This tactic is nothing new. Large food corporations have been doing this for years. I'm sure Phelps is aware of it as well. Just another reason for parents to raise their own kids and not allow the television to fill those shoes.
I can understand everyone's frustration with Michael Phelps not taking the "high road", but did we criticize MIchael Jordan, Bruce Jenner, and the like for their affiliations with breakfast cereal? I am guessing most of us grew up with them as the spokespeople for our generation, and if we educated ourselves, we learned to make good choices regarding our food. At least he is not out promoting over-caffeinated energy drinks, weight loss pills, fad diets, or "enhancement" products. He is not the worst example of selling out, he deserves his shot in the spotlight, he will probably be remembered more for motivating kids than contributing to wasted youth and obesity. Would you rather see kids following the examples of the Lindsay Lohans, Paris Hiltons, etc? End point: it is up to the parents to educate their kids, the kids do not do their own grocery shopping, they do not drive to the local fast food restaurants, they do not dictate their diets; the parent have to teach, and possibly even overcome some hurdles of their own. I am a huge proponent of creating intelligent, aware and informed children, I think it is our key to fighting the obesity situation. Great site, Jayson, keep up the stimulating topics!
Jayson,
I would have to agree with you. I have two young boys and on a regular basis they are being influenced by different sporting individuals both in a positive and negative manner. In this case, I would have to say it is a negative message, but you never know. Eating a high sugar cereal to start your day might be an improvement for some kids.
On a side note, my son loves basketball and one of his dreams is to become a McDonald's All American! I guess this is ok as long as he does not think eating McDonalds food will get him there!
In response to suggesting that MP never ate frosted flakes while in training - he probably did! I know plenty of athletes who have a mixed diet of perfect and not so perfect foods. The point is, they're EXERCISING!
Hopefully, they're outdoors sometimes, breathing deeply, breaking a sweat (yes swimmers sweat!) Hopefully they'll become advocates for safer healthier environment and lifestyles.
Being active is part of being alive, which plenty of parents forget as well. We were not designed to sit at a desk or in a vehicle all day!
Get folks moving or get them eating right. They'll probably come 'round to one thru the other.
Wouldn't it be nice if schools taught more about health through the foods they served? And about cereal marketing in business classes?
I'm rambling…
I'm a bit disappointed to see people demonize McDonald's and Frosted Flakes thinking that they are among the worst nutritional choices out there. Certainly Frosted Flakes with milk and fruit is better than donuts or cookies for breakfast! And McDonald's has many good choices available for both breakfast and lunch.
Promoting activity is what it is all about! Kids need to be more active, regardless of what they're eating. If you want any more proof of the need for activity, the studies on the Amish with their activity levels vs their food consumption is all you need.
Hi Jayson,
This is a direct reflexion of our Failing Society. Kids look up to athletes because they want what they have. Fame and the almighty Dollar. When they should be looking to emulate their Parents, Grandparents, Teachers, Police Officers and Firemen.
We better wake up and stop giving these athletes the red carpet treatment on the Tonight Show, until they get the message!
Mike, get out of the money pool before you drown in it!
Kaydee is right, Special K does in fact contain high fructose corn syrup. As far as Phelps and Kellogs, it's all about the money at the end of the day. Parents need to be concerned about their children's health. Proper nutrition for kids may be challenging especially when they're outside the home but physical activity needs to be present. Remember moderation instead of overconsumption.
Well, I used to eat Frosted Flakes when I was little, and I'm lean and mean now. I tried Frosted Flakes on our five year old boy and he didn't like it. It was too sweet for him. I say this, to hell with Kellogg's, to hell with Phelps, to hell with all of them. If you run your house lean and healthy, if you raise your kids healthy and fit, the rest of the world to go and eff themselves. My five year old boy can do many of the exercises in my Endurance Elite - Supremacy manual. And he's very proud of himself.
I'm not surprised. Michael Phelps did not give me the idea that he knows a lot about good nutrition when I read that he ate vast amounts of fast foods to consume the 12 000 calories needed when in training.
We have a bright young olympic hockey team mom in Canada that promotes Hamburger Helper as a good nutritional supper for her family.
This has nothing to do with food or helping kids. This is only about the money.
Unfortunately the average mom still thinks that if an athlete promotes something, it will be okay to eat.
Kids don't buy the rice krispie treats, parents do. Most parents are ignorant to what is healthy, but that is their fault since the information is out there. I'm a fitness professional and have my NSCA CSCS, but I let my 4 year old daughter have captain crunch on saturdays because she eats wheat toast and eggs almost every other morning. And if you ask her "why we can't have cereal every morning" she will say "because it's not healthy and i want to be strong." I have instilled a sense of 'health' in a four year old, but I still let her have some candy and even *gasp* junk food. It moderated very closely and she stays active. Let kids be kids. Focus your aggrevation on parents who don't know and don't care about what is appropriately healthy.
I think that you cannot get really mad at Michael Phelps for doing what he did. He is trying to make a good living in a sport where there aren't many financial rewards and its smart to take advantage of it while there is still the electricity of he Olympic achievements. I believe that many of you would do the same when it came down to that situation….
As far as Kellogs, it's far from a great food for kids and I think it's more important that parent's are educated, knowledgable to let give their kids the proper nutrition. Most of all parents need to be good examples!! I have parent's come to me to make meal plans for their kids and they walk in with a Starbucks and burger. How is your kid going to ever be healthy, lose weight when both the parents are obese. Newsflash - most kids look up to their parents and will emulate them. Be a role model for your kids and don't just always blame the commercial and someone else. Everyone has a choice, you can make the right one or the wrong one, just don't pass the blame on to everyone else from commercials, companies, and most all Olympic athletes that inspire!
Luka Hocevar
http://www.hocevarperformance.com/blog
Unfortunately, evidently a lot of high level athletes eat like this. Right after the Olympics, there was a story that came out about how Usain Bolt practically lives on McDonalds chicken McNuggets. I am a member of the Supertraining discussion list, and one of the members has a friend who is an Olympic athlete who verified that this is not uncommon at all. Now, the reasons for this are that they have crazy schedules, need to grab something easy and, quite frankly, that they can get away with it-not because it is proper fuel for their bodies. But people will look at it and think "If they do it……" Very sad.
WOW! I read some of these post and I'm a litlte shocked but I don't know why I am. Don't blame Kellogs for brilliant marketing. Everyone loves Phelps and he could be on the package of some horrible products and people would buy it just because its him. AND I don't blame him for "selling out" as I imagine some might be thinking. Would you turn down a couple hundred thousand dollars NOT to endorse a product? You would? Really. Its cereal for crying out loud not Jack Daniels or handguns. Deceptive by Kellogs? Maybe. I call it good marketing.
I am a fitness trainer. What I tell my clients, is that AFTER they reach their goal, they can eat and drink whatever they want, in moderation, as long as they exercise enough to make up for it. CALORIES IN–CALORIES OUT. Most of us grew up eating a lot of sugary foods that were in some cases worse than what's out there today. The difference is we were ACTIVE kids, playing and running constantly. Schools still had mandatory Phy Ed and the general population was lean by today's standard because the portions were smaller. Product endorsement has always been about making money. If Kellogs and Michael Phelps come up with a viable program that REALLY burns off enough calories to allow kids to eat their products and still get down to a healthy weight, then it could be a win-win-win. It won't take too long to tell how it's working. If it's successful, it will be profitable to them to make SURE the public knows about it.
I'm really upset that so many products are out on the market that aren't healthy and are promoted as such. The problem also is that so many families are not educated in the dangers of high fructose corn syrup, sugar and products that are filled with unhealthy substances that cause our children to be unhealthy. I have been working at educating families first as a Public Health Nurse and now as a Juice Plus+ representative the importance of good Nutrition and Exercise for themselves and their families. In doing Wellness Presentations many are shocked when you explain the amount of sugar in products and how you read the labels to tell what you are getting per serving. I don't want to believe that families are feeding their families these products everyday knowing the dangers. Nutrition - Exercise - and Lifestyle are the keys to better health for all. Not Sugar foods, Cell phones, computers TV's etc.
It is a travesty that these companies get away with selling such unhealthy crap, while acting as if they are truly concerned about the publics health! We the consumer must take a proactive approach with educating ourselves on proper eating habits and exercise. Unfortunately that type of business is all to common through out this country. We the consumers can make a stand by making healthier choices. There are many great nutrition and fitness experts out there like Jayson Hunter & Mike Geary just waiting to help you. Its not as difficult as you think, all you need is a little help getting started!
Live long & live healthy,
James Pearo