Lisa Dorfman, a registered dietitian and the director of sports nutrition and performance at the University of Miami, says that she often sees children who are terrified of foods that are deemed “bad” by parents. “It’s almost a fear of dying, a fear of illness, like a delusional view of foods in general,” she said. “I see kids whose parents have hypnotized them. I have 5-year-olds that speak like 40-year-olds. They can’t eat an Oreo cookie without being concerned about trans fats.”

What is more frightening is the fact that we are passing along our self-obsessions, masked as holistic health, to our children.

When the girl told her mother what Ms. Setnick said, the mother was furious, according to Ms. Setnick. “She said, ‘Don’t you know white rice is just like sugar?’ ”

Growing up in a family environment that was insulated from the madness of American culture provided me the freedom to eat as much white rice as I wanted. Don’t get me wrong, there are downsides, but I am certainly glad I didn’t have my parents looming over my shoulder micromanaging every calorie I consumed. (It’s probably because I’m Chinese.)