World's Stupidest Childhood Obesity Intervention Plan

Wow.

Anyone here familiar with the Greek myth of Milo? So the story goes,

"Milo of Croton was born in the sixth century B.C. in southern Italy, won the boys' wrestling Olympic Games in 540 B.C., and went on to victory in five consecutive Olympics.

Some modern athletic coaches consider Milo the father of resistance training, the process of lifting heavier and heavier weights to build strength. This stems from another legend: As a youth, Milo carried a newborn ox on his shoulders. As Milo grew, the ox grew; the load got heavier and Milo's muscles became stronger."

My guess is that the folks who work for Palos Sports a Chicago based sporting good distributor might have taken that myth literally.

Why?

Well last week they issued a press release detailing their,

"Operation Pull Your Own Weight"

Their premise?

I'll let their website do the talking (caplocks are theirs),

"1. Kids who can do pull-ups, ARE NEVER OBESE.

2. Using a Height Adjustable Pull Up Bar and Leg Assisted Pull Ups, (pulling and jumping at the same time) ALMOST ALL KIDS can develop the ability to do conventional pull-ups.

3. Which is to say, ALMOST ALL KIDS can naturally immunize themselves against obesity for a lifetime, without pills, shots, or fancy diets, by simply developing, and maintaining the ability to do pull ups."

Ummm, I think someone needs to help these folks with the principles of cause and effect.

Oh, and logic too.

Here's some comparably brilliant "logic" sure to blow Operation Pull your Own Weight guys' minds:

1. All astronauts are mammals.
2. Monkeys are mammals.
3. All astronauts are monkeys.

Ooooooooo, scary.

I'm guessing they call NASA the instant they read this.

By dumbing down obesity into an argument that includes a truism with misappropriated causality the individuals behind this effort do more harm than good.

Now normally I wouldn't bother posting about something like this. It's just so unbelievably stupid it almost isn't worth mention. Yet somehow this organization has managed to actually make noise with a piece having appeared in the Chicago Tribune...a positive piece no less. (if you want an entertaining read, head over to the piece and read the comments)

Oh, and if you're wondering what might be motivating these folks? They sell sporting goods equipment to schools and schoolyards for doing pull-ups.

[Hat tip to Travis from Obesity Panacea]