Giant conchas raise concern among Hispanic parents
By ONANTZIN News
2012-01-11
Los Angeles, CA -- For the eighth time this month, an overweight kid was hospitalized due to severe intake of what's known to Hispanics as a supersized concha -- a soft blend of buttery sweet bread with a sugary cinnamon topping (known as the famous 'concha') that's been supersized to a portion big enough to feed an entire family.
The latest victim, a 13 year old plump Mexican named Juan Garcia, was sent to the hospital Monday morning after devouring a full 14oz jumbo concha within a record time of two minutes and seventeen seconds.
Juan's mom, Mrs. Lucy Garcia, said she served her son a glass of milk and a piece of the family-size sugary bread before putting the rest on the kitchen counter. She left the kitchen to finish getting ready for work, and when she returned, she found little Juanito unconscious on the floor alongside the empty plastic bag that once held the gigantic concha.
She immediately called the paramedics, which rushed the unconscious boy to White Memorial Hospital in East Los Angeles.
To Mrs. Garcia's relief, her son had nothing more than a serious case of giant concha overload, a condition that leaves the victims unconscious in a state of deep sleep for several hours and which doctors -- after seeing seven related cases in the last month -- have begun to classify as "one hell of a food coma".
"He looks like he could have a heart attack any minute now... but that wasn't the case today. Despite his weight, he is actually very healthy and woke up after about five hours, just like the other seven plump kids who were hospitalized this month for the same reason," said Doctor Rajiv Shenvi. "There was absolutely nothing wrong with him; he even woke up feeling refreshed and with lots of energy, so we simply sent him home, safe and sound."
The scare, nonetheless, was enough to prompt his mother to boycott the giant sweet bread treat.
According to Mrs. Garcia, she was already apprehensive about buying the family-size conchas from "El Superior" (the local Latino market), given that this was not the first time little Juanito had taken it upon himself to eat the giant concha in one sitting, but she said none of the prior incidents had been cause for serious concern.
"The last time he sneaked around and pulled this [ate an entire family-size concha], he got sick and had to miss school for two days, but that was it… I see now, however, that I should have learned my lesson back then," said Mrs. Garcia.
She and the other parents whose children have put them through this ordeal have formed a group to try and put pressure on supermarkets such as Superior, Ralphs, Vons, and Trader Joes to stop selling the giant conchas. If their attempts fail, Mrs. Garcia says they'll settle for a warning label on them that reads: "Warning, your chubby kid WILL eat the whole thing, and then pass out for several hours."
