Editor's note: This story is part of our special Miss America section of the Press of Atlantic City. Read more stories, watch videos, scroll through photo galleries and keep up with the next few weeks on our official Miss America page at PressofAC.com/missamerica.
The Miss America competition always has been a product of its time. At its core, it is about “bests.”
Of course, since Margaret Gorman won the first competition as The Most Beautiful Bathing Girl, the definition of “best” keeps changing.
The women competing Sept. 11 are trying to reach a best that is less about an ideal set by the public and more about each individual competing to bring out her own best qualities.
Healthy living, including diet and exercise, is a large part of the competition at the state and national level. Each contestant promotes a healthy lifestyle in her own way, and a few of the contestants have made it their platforms.
Miss Arkansas Savvy Shields has a platform of “Eat Better, Live Better.” Miss California Jessa Carmack’s is “Building a Healthy Future,” and Miss New York Camille Sims’ platform is “Ensuring Wellness and Fostering Food Justice.”
Many of the women post food and nutrition tips on their social-media accounts, including Instagram and Twitter.
For Sims, an interest in food justice, the food movement tackling social barriers that keep low- to moderate-income families from access to healthy food, began early.
“I got involved in food justice when I was about 12,” Sims said. “I would volunteer at food banks a lot, and it just wasn’t healthy food.”
This experience led her toward a bachelor of science degree in Human Development and a minor in Inequalities Studies from the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University.
“I was able to work with students as a Head Start teacher and through community events,” Sims said. “Food was a major barrier for folks. There are so many platforms, but food brings us all together. It’s so important for titleholders to reach all Americans culturally.”
Sims said she has paid attention to healthy living for another reason, too. She’s allergic to citric acid, which is found not only in fruits but most packaged foods, because it is used as a flavor enhancer and preservative.
Because food allergies know no social boundaries, having such a condition adds to the reason Sims works hard to promote accessibility to healthy foods for those with lower incomes.
“Healthy eating and living brings balance in your life. All people need to have access to that,” Sims said.
Shields said she chose her platform to address America’s poor habits.
She said she grew up in a “healthy home” and wasn’t exposed to high-sugar foods unless she was out of the house at sleepovers. When she was on her own in college, however, quick, easy meals of pizza and fast food became the norm.
“It took me about a year to make the connection between what I was eating and how I was feeling. The obvious weight gain was last on my list of issues,” Shields said. “I had problems sleeping, focusing, handling stress, had migraines and battled depression. I became sick and tired of being sick and tired and decided to make a change.”
Shields got back to a healthy eating habit and said one key to success is eating breakfast every day and follows the rule to “eat as much that is grown in the sun as possible.”
“Read your labels!” she said. “A good rule of thumb in reading the ingredients is, “If you can’t read it, don’t eat it. Only have good food in your home. Clean out the bad stuff. If you keep good food in your fridge you will eat good food!”
Shields said the focus of her platform centers on food more than exercise because “you will never be able to exercise a bad diet.”
“Most of the chronic diseases today (diabetes, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers) could be helped or stopped with dietary intervention,” she said. “It’s these daily choices that lead to chronic, yet preventable disease. Basically, you are what you eat.”
Miss New Jersey Brenna Weick said she makes her meals healthy by swapping out high-calorie ingredients.
“I’m not a salad lover, so I try to find alternatives to a light, healthy lunch,” Weick said. “To keep my protein up throughout the day, I often eat chicken salad with a few adjustments. Rather than using mayonnaise I add nonfat Greek yogurt to my chicken.”
“I also add crushed walnuts or pecans and finely chopped apple to give it a little crunch! I love fruit, so I grab a handful of strawberries or blackberries to go with it,”she said.
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/missamerica/eating-like-a-miss-america-contestant-can-be-lifestyle-and/article_b36ca5a4-6e21-11e6-a9f6-9fb85367bd7d.html
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