Toronto Mayor Rob Ford caught buying KFC, but should the story have run?

Toronto's mayor is on a public "Cut the Waist" weight loss challenge and recently it hasn't been going well

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is not the slimmest individual, but the somewhat round leader of Canada's largest city must be applauded for trying to do something about it.

But people must wonder how serious His Worship is after a recent video surfaced of him getting KFC.

In his "Cut the Waist" weight loss challenge he has lost 18 pounds since January, but in the past few weeks has cancelled weekly weigh-ins without explanation and is up four pounds from his February low.

This video, which included people laughing in the background, came under much criticism when it was posted by the Toronto Star.

Cordella, who posted the video and declined to give her last name, told the Star she posted it because it shows he doesn't stand behind what he is promoting and doesn't show dedication.

"If you're not committed to the diet that you committed to — nobody forced you to go on a diet and tell everybody — how can you be committed to the taxpayers of Toronto and making changes in Toronto?" she told the Star.

Cordella hopes the mocking video will be encouragement.

It must be noted that the Star and the mayor have been in a battle for a while with Ford boycotting the paper and telling residents to read any other paper and the Star routinely not holding back on their critical coverage.

On the other hand, Global News anchor Leslie Roberts made the point that if the mayor was a kid, the video would be considered bullying, something the schools are working hard to end. So is this open mocking allowed because of his public image? Ford did opt in to the challenge saying it would help him with his quest to lose weight.

The National Post's Matt Gurney wondered why getting lunch was news and criticized the Star for running the video.

Peter Worthington of the Toronto Sun, a Ford supporter, asked why the mayor is "putting himself through this embarrassing spectacle?" It may be good publicity if he was actually losing weight, but if he can't discipline his appetite to lose the weight, it may be time to call it quits and announce he wasn't elected to lose weight.

No matter where you stand on the irony of Ford getting KFC while on a weight loss challenge, the real question Torontonians must ask is, what does his lack of commitment to his health say about him as a leader? When he launched the "Cut the Waist" campaign, it seemed like a publicity stunt to divert people from the real issues.

Ford hopes to lose about 50 pounds by June, meaning he hopes to drop another 32 pounds.