Stake adds 13th high councilman to address nursery obesity

SAN FRANCISCO - The San Francisco stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (or LaDaSa church) has taken the unprecedented step of adding a 13th high councilman to combat the growing epidemic of nursery obesity. LaDaSa stakes, equivalent to a Catholic diocese, normally have 12 high councilmen. Their job is to assist the stake president (similar to a Catholic bishop) in administering the needs of the several congregations in the stake. Each high councilman is given an area of assignment within the stake, to act as a sort of resource to the congregations in that area. For example, one high councilman would be over the Boy Scouts, another over Primary, etc.

San Francisco stake president Max Yasgur spoke with us about this controversial change. "I've heard it said that children are our future and if that is true then we need to ensure they are healthy so they can make it to the future. I was touring the nurseries one month and I noticed a troubling fact: almost every child in nursery is obese. Some of these kids have fat folds ON TOP of their knees. That's not acceptable for adults so why should it be acceptable for kids?"

President Yasgur, a yoga instructor by trade and author of self-help book The Man Inside Me, was disappointed to learn how a typical day in nursery is conducted.

"Normally the kids spend about two hours each week in nursery. They are given some play time and some singing time but no real exercise time. In addition to that, there is snack time. I'm alarmed at how unhealthy the snacks are. They ate graham crackers, which are full of sugar. Goldfish crackers or pretzels, which are full of salt. Then come raisins which gives the children a second shot of unneeded sugar. About the only healthy thing these kids get is water. It's ludicrous!"

A sampling of nursery children from the S.F. stake

President Yasgur is confident that the calling of the 13th high councilman will stem the obesity tide. He hopes to have the new high councilman up and running before Easter.

"I'm giving this man carte blanche to make whatever changes he deems necessary. Obviously we can only control what happens during those two hours but we have ways of helping parents understand that they need to be vigilant at home as well. We will even consider ticking tithing up or down based on the baby's digression or progression on weight control. If that doesn't work for the parents, well, let's just say some callings in the church are less desirable than others. It would be a shame to end up in one of those callings."

Church spokesman Bruce McDunnough could not be reached for comment.

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