A recent segment from CBS Mornings promoting a study that linked childhood obesity to climate change was widely hammered and the TV network was accused of spreading “propaganda.”
CBS Mornings cited a study published in the journal Temperature. The study said that children are now 30% less aerobic fitness than their parents at the same age. [bold, links added]
The study’s author argued that warming temperatures are making children less active – thus making them more obese.
The author of the study claimed, “As the Earth’s warming continues to accelerate, children are set to bear the health risk brunt of rising global temperatures.”
The official Twitter account for CBS Mornings posted a video clip with the caption: “Today’s children are 30% less aerobically fit than their parents were at their age, a new study found. The study points to climate change and rising temperatures adversely affecting childhood obesity, as children spend less time exercising outdoors.”
Today’s children are 30% less aerobically fit than their parents were at their age, a new study found.
The study points to climate change and rising temperatures adversely affecting childhood obesity, as children spend less time exercising outdoors. pic.twitter.com/26WehoLK9I
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) August 13, 2022
Even one of the hosts of CBS Mornings called out the study for being severely flawed.
Host Nate Burleson conceded that children are less likely to go outside because of technology that allows them to “be social without having to go outside to be social.” However, he also stressed, “It has been a lot hotter and the weather has been crazy.”
The thousands of Twitter reactions to the segment pushing a study linking childhood obesity to climate change were brutal for CBS Mornings.
Many commentators noted that children nowadays are consumed with screens that may prevent them from going outside to exercise. Others pointed out that diets are probably not as healthy as they used to be.
There were some who blamed Democrats and blue states for closing schools, playgrounds, sports leagues, and beaches – which led to a more sedentary lifestyle for children.
Others questioned the study as to why obesity isn’t more prevalent in hotter climates than in colder ones.
BlazeTV personality Sara Gonzales: “Or! Their parents are fat and lazy. And bad parents. Didn’t even need a study to give you that truth.”
Stanford professor Jay Bhattacharya: “Public health bureaucrats closed playgrounds, limited kid’s sports, and made a virtue of extended screen time. They closed schools and PE classes. In some places, this went on for years. Maybe this headline writer lives in Florida or Sweden and missed the lockdowns?”
Writer Pradheep J. Shanker: “This may be one of the dumbest things I’ve read in a while.”
Former Congresswoman Nan Hayworth: “NO. NO. NO. Many factors contribute to children’s lack of fitness, but climate change is NOT one of them. This is propaganda that CBS, as with all ‘mainstream’ media, pushes to scare Americans into accepting Government intervention–at any cost!!–against climate apocalypse.”
Author Matt Walsh: “Yes, climate change is causing childhood obesity and not the fact that parents feed their kids sh**ty food and let them sit around staring at screens all day. Great piece of reporting here.”
Writer Kyle Becker: “How much fraud can you put into a report? I exercised for hours in 100 degree+ weather in 90% humidity when I was growing up in South Carolina over thirty years ago. Maybe it’s the screen time? Or your idiotic Covid hysteria? No, it couldn’t be. You con artists.”
Columnist Stacey Lennox: “Bulls**t. You locked them at home for two years & there is an epidemic of helicopter parents who don’t let them engage in unsupervised play. Give me a break. I played outside in upper 90 & 100-degree heat because I was allowed to.”
Commentator Ken Gardner: “’Climate change’ is a damn cult. And these ‘studies’ are junk science at best, a fraud at worst. Childhood obesity, in most cases, begins with crap parents who spoil their children and allow them to form bad eating habits.”
Physician Nicole Saphier: “Blaming rising childhood obesity on climate change is next level absurd. How about the fact we have generated a lazy society with electronics and the cancellation of activities from nonsensical Covid policy?”
Editor Spencer Brown: “This has nothing to do with kids and everything to do with pushing an agenda. If they cared about the health of kids they would have blasted Dems for spending two years dismantling playgrounds and keeping kids locked indoors learning through computer screens.”
Writer Inez Stepman: “Climate change is responsible for wars and storms and now obesity.”
Podcast host Jedediah Bila: “Newsflash: kids don’t care about hot weather. It’s not climate change’s fault that kids are fat and out of shape. They’re fat and out of shape because they eat garbage food and bury their heads in phones and iPads all day while eating that garbage.”
Editor-in-chief Jonah Goldberg: “Seriously, the idea that American kids are more obese because they’re spending less time outdoors because of climate change is the dumbest, most intelligence-insulting, science and sociology-denying bulls**t I’ve heard in long time.”
Former national champion gymnast Jennifer Sey: “As a kid I trained in 90* heat, no air conditioning, 7+ hours a day & needing water every 5 min wasn’t a thing. Maybe it’s screens+coddling+school/sports/playground closures. Not every issue is climate change.”
Writer David Angelo: “Lol climate change. That’s why kids in Connecticut are more out of shape than kids by the equator? You ever listen to yourselves?”
Commentator Joey Jones: “Then the study is nothing more than propaganda.”
Talk show host Erick Erickson: “The media that cannot tell you what a woman is can tell you with [certainty] that climate change is causing childhood obesity. Is it any wonder so few people trust the press these days?”
Data analyst Kyle Lamb: “And you thought it was already ridiculous how much they blamed COVID for their own failed policies. Now if you break a nail it’s climate change.”
Journalist Erielle Davidson: “Kids are playing video games and are attached to their phones. Problem compounded by living in a city where parents might be worried about crime. But sure, climate change.”
Former Texas political candidate Patrick McGuinness: “Not sedentary lifestyles, not kids’ videogames, not rise of fast food, not COVID-era closing playgrounds, forcing kids to stay inside & making kids more obese and less fit … no, a tiny increase in CO2 and tiny rise in temps drove kids indoors.”
Canadian political candidate Roman Baber: “Children are 30% less fit than their parents were at the same age. Not because kids are on their devices or lockdowns, but because of climate change! Don’t be a science denier. If you pay the government a carbon tax your kids will be fitter.”
Commentator Hans Mahncke: “They made kids fat by shutting schools, playgrounds, parks and beaches. Predictably, they’re now blaming ‘climate change.’ If there aren’t severe penalties for the fraudsters who pushed lockdowns, it’ll happen again.”
Bodybuilder Marc Lobliner: “Being lazy and eating crappy food is child abuse, not climate change. You lying pieces of garbage. The media is evil.”
Radio host Colin Dunlap: “‘Kids are out of shape because of the weather’ is top 3 dumb st I’ve ever heard in my life. And I’ve heard — and said — a whole lot of dumb st.”
h/t Alan S.
Read more at The Blaze
More fake news from CBS Mornings more reasons to tune them out and turn them off
Fat people are sequestering carbon.
But seriously, maybe these ridiculous claims that climate change is responsible for all things “bad” will cause people to say enough already. Ignore the alarmists.
Warm weather and moderate CO2 levels lead to high food production. This will sometimes cause a condition known as “overactive fork” that leads to obesity.