Looks like our newly re-elected President hasn’t been taking tips on healthy eating from the First Lady. Instead of chowing down on fresh food from the White House garden, President Obama has been pictured indulging in fried foods, hearty burgers and barbecue. Whether posing for political reasons or stress eating after a rather heavy week of natural disasters, election day jitters or the coming plight of proving his worth over the next four years, doctor Neal D. Bernard, founder of The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, is only concerned with his overall health.

“Congratulations to President Barack Obama on his re-election. The months spent on the campaign trail to achieve this victory must have been an impossibly difficult slog—from relentless travel to the barrage of fast food and greasy spoons. He even had to take on Frankenstorm. But now that the election is over, at least he doesn’t need to face campaign-mandated junk-food photo ops anymore,” writes Barnard on his blog.

In his blog, Barnard’s mentions that red meat increases the risk of dying prematurely and had also been linked to an increase cancer-risk. Because the images of President Obama junk food go viral, PCRM argues that the President’s junk-food habit has the effect of glamorizing unhealthy eating before a country that already faces an obesity crisis. They even filed a petition in early May objecting to the President sharing his unhealthy habits with his staff and visiting dignitaries.

Perhaps Barnard is on to something here; associating social media’s impact on consumer values and behaviors. If the President were pictured with healthier food, a bowl full of salad and locally sourced poultry would he be seen in the same light as his fit and fab wife Michelle or viewed as elitist when so many living in food deserts don’t have access to healthy options in their neighborhood?

What are your thoughts on President Obama’s food habits?