The-F-Word.org

Parenthood doesn’t come with a handbook, but it seems as if everyone has their own editorial on the subject.

In our not so distant past, unmarried mothers wore a scarlet mark and in the case of divorce, custody automatically reverted to the family’s patriarch. More recently, gay parents have come under fire, with many states banning the adoption of children from prospective parents who identify as homosexual.

Now a new omission can be added to what makes a good parent: obesity.

China announced last month that it plans on tightening rules on foreign adoptions, barring people who are single, obese, older than 50, or who fail to meet certain financial, physical or psychological benchmarks from adopting Chinese children.

Amongst new requirements, the guidelines mandate applicants have a body-mass index of less than 40 which effectively rules out about 9 million Americans. For comparison purposes, if the entirely population of Americans with BMIs over 40 lived in one state, it would be the 12^th state in population.

There is absolutely no evidence that obesity makes for bad parenting. The Chinese government’s new guidelines amount to nothing more than fat bias. Contrary to what the multi-billion dieting industry and its lobbying groups in Washington preach, it is entirely possible to be fat and fit.

With China’s one-child policy, the numbers of children in need of adoptive homes continues to rise. The measure of a good parent can’t be found on a BMI scale.

I was never the Girl Scout type.

I’d sooner gouge out my eye with a spork than spend my time braiding lanyards and going door-to-door selling sweets in attempts to spread some prepackaged, socially conditioned goodwill.

But man, oh, man, do I love their cookies.

Jumping on the trans fats ban bandwagon, the Girl Scouts announced that, for the first time in 90 years of cookie history, they have sucked nearly all the trans facts out of all varieties of their cookies.

It seems trans fats have replaced smoking as the new national whipping boy.

Recently New York City passed the nation’s first ever municipal ban on trans fats in restaurant cooking. Falling in line, Walt Disney World and Royal Caribbean International announced they, too, will cut the trans fats from foods they serve (although I’m quite sure it will still put you back 10 bucks for a hot dog at Disneyland).

Starbucks next declared it too will remove trans fats from its Frappucinos and cranberry bliss bars and State Representative Peter Koutoujian filed legislation last month to make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to ban trans fats.

Has the nation reached its trans fats tipping point?

Girl Scout cookies may now be sans trans fat, but you won’t find me sidling up to khaki-outfitted entrepreneur until they cut the calories.