At the hospital, we give out handouts from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics as part of our diet educations. Lately, I’ve been working mostly with the ones specific to pediatrics, so it’s been interesting to note differences and similarities to the adult versions.

However, the Academy has got to do something about this one. Is it just me, or is the picture on this “Nutrition for Adolescent Girls” just plain weird? Creepy, even.

I don’t know about you, but I think it has “daddy issues” written all over it. That and, well, “Hey girl…in life, men are going to spoon-feed you their mixed up bullish!t, and to be healthy and survive, you should smile and take it.” Oh yeah, and that it also helps to be thin and blonde and white.

What pisses me off the most is that this is what we give to teenage girls who are obese (BMI above the 97th percentile screens a kid in for an education). I feel it’s a population you need to be extremely sensitive with, and giving them this packet with that picture on it just feels like a crap thing to do.

I should note that the “Nutrition for Adolescent Boys” packet features a photo of a young blond boy enthusiastically biting into what appears to be a biscuit. Don’t even get me started…

What do you think? Weird, creepy? Both?