15-Year All-McNugget-All-the-Time Diet a Hazardous Health Option…Duh

If the primary purpose of the article I read about a 17-year-old British girl who collapsed after eating nothing but Chicken McNuggets for 15 years was to fire a shot across the McDonald's bow rather than to advise against irresponsibly radical eating habits, then the author of said piece has made a mistake. However, it is newsworthy in its sensationalism and cannot be overlooked. Yes, McDonald's, like every other fast food restaurant, offers menu items that would be foolish to consume in large quantities over long periods of time. McDonald's also happens to offer healthy options. I'm guessing that even the Golden Arches execs would strongly warn against making the Chicken McNugget your sole source of nutrition throughout the first decade-and-a-half of your life. If the article's writer, Lisa Collier Cool, wants to go after someone, how about this girl's parents.

We learn in the story that the girl in question, Stacey Irvine, just loved McNuggets so much the first time she ate them at age 2 that her mother just kept giving them to her. I guess she felt it was easier than making her child eat fruits and vegetables--which, by the way, Stacey's doctors discovered she had NEVER eaten. I would like to think that Ms. Cool, who writes a Day in Health column, is going at this from a health-conscious angle. But the tone of the article begs to differ. I'd hate to think that someone is, once again, making an excuse for lack of good parenting. I hope this girl is okay. But, I have to wonder what it's going to be like for her when she recovers and begins to eat other food; I'm fairly certain her doctor will stress the importance of that practice. She's practically of legal age. Her mother can't tell her what to do anymore. It's now up to her to make the correct choices. I wish her well.