The Los Angeles Unified School District reportedly shared a video that said it was wrong to deem junk food bad, and a parent group was not happy about it.
According to the Daily Mail, the Human Relations and Diversity department shared the clip created by nutritionist Kera Nyemb-Diop and Blair Imani, the outlet reported Wednesday.
“Diet culture, fatphobia, and systems of oppression have created false hierarchies of food and it shows up everywhere,” Imani wrote in the Instagram post shared last week, then urged followers to “approach food with neutrality in mind.”
In the clip, Mayah Finoh, whose Instagram account name is @SavageXFatty, claimed, “The only foods that are bad for you are the ones that contain allergens, poisons, and contaminants.”
The video was no longer found on the department’s Instagram profile, according to the Mail report.
The L.A. Parent Union criticized the clip in a social media post on Sunday, writing, “They tell our kids that we’ve lied to them & no one food is better for them than another food (oppressive food hierarchy).”
“@lausdHRDE is actively working to undermine parents & hurt kids,” the group said.
Followers also expressed their opinions, one person asking, “Wut? Are they actually promoting obesity and unhealthy choices?”
“What did I just watch? They believe their own lies to feel good about being obese? What is this? How can this not fact checked?” another commented.
In a subsequent post on Wednesday, the union said, “Nearly 40k people liked the ‘eat whatever you want regardless of what society (or your doctor) says’ video – including the LAUSD Human Relations, Diversity and Equity team.”
Per the Mail report, nutritionist Nyemb-Diop worked with snack company, Mondelez International. The company’s website listed food items such as Milka, Oreos, and Cadbury.
Problems with an individual’s lifestyle, such as little activity and eating too many calories, are the main causes of childhood obesity, according to the Mayo Clinic.
“Regularly eating high-calorie foods, such as fast foods, baked goods and vending machine snacks, can cause your child to gain weight. Candy and desserts also can cause weight gain, and more and more evidence points to sugary drinks, including fruit juices and sports drinks, as culprits in obesity in some people,” the clinic’s website reads.