obesity starts in the home; and especially with the parents daily routine . taking the kids to mcdonalds and eating 6 big macs apiece, is not healthy eating . i dont want to hear the excuse they cant afford food in the store; its cheaper to buy food  than fast food. also, alot of homes dont cook meals for there family. too lazy; theyd rather go to the mall, buy nachos and cheese, stuff their face walking down the shopping aisles. doesnt the sign say no food in the mall.  two square meals, vegetables fruits,meat etc; sitting at the dinner table together like families use to do.the tearing down of good family values and healthy customs has caused this gross dilemma. the inner city dwellars seem to have more obese people, concurring with the facts of the deteriation of family values especially in the inner cities. take responsibility for yourown actions; look inward instead of outward. personal discipline is part of every day regiment for healthy living. stuffing big macs and nachos in your face is not the answer for a healthy look. doesnt look that good in public or in stores either . we need to tear down this souless genertation and rebuld  whatuse to be a strong nuclear family across the board.  it still exists in suburbs but we have to clean up the garbage everywhere else. quit blaming the vendors and the fast food industry; nobodys forcing them to eat there.

Great idea, let's have a new tax.  Look how well taxes work to reduce use of booze and smokes.

yea jon ch you are so right in your statement. it seems that parents are to lazy and BUSY to cook a home meal these days, and to even sit down as a family. giving your child, or anyone for that matter fastfood is going to make you FAT... go by a healty meal at the store and cook it up for the family. parents who show there kids nothing but fastfood and junk are more likely going to grow up to see that nastey eating drive and are going to be prone to eat just like them.... eat healty and excerise daily... you'll see less FAT and more skinny healty ones in the united states... and as for the pregnant ones eat healty, they cant help that belly..... but eating right can reduce the size you get while carrying a baby.....

First, of all, NO, NO, NO Do NOT allow politicians to start legislating what and how we eat.  I do not want some do-gooder nosing around in my cupboards. Please at least leave that last bastion of privacy alone.

As for the growing weight problem, ther are other solutions.  First, as others have noted, teach our children that moving is good.  We tend to cut things like PE from schools when budgets get tight.  Second, teach adults that moving is good. Third, get rid of this body mass index business.  Were I to fit into the numbers listed for me to be proper weight, I would be skin and bones.  In my best physical condition, when I ran 30 miles a week, my BMI was over 25.  I had a body fat of 14% cholesterol levels arounf 160, a resting heart rate of 47, but I was considered overweight.  With guidance like that, no wonder people give up and just get fat.

Many of our eating habits are still carried over from the days when most people worked on farms or in factories, and needed the calories.  When our activity levels decreased, our food intake didn't.  Worse, our speed of life increased, we headed for a quick burger and fries, and our food industries heped us along with things like Pop-Tarts and Slim Jims.  Our bodies simply do not have time to recognize that we have fed them at that speed of intake.

No politician is going to solve that problem with a new law.

I am sick and tired of watching overweight people do just that, eat fatty foods, and make bad choices!  I worked at Wegmans as a cashier, and yes, many, not all overweight individuals made very bad grocery choices in my mind.  There is nothing wrong with having a donut, having chocolate, fritos, etc.. but IN MODERATION  MODERATION MODERATION!!!!!  Sometimes it seems to me, people feel a sense of entitlement to eat the way they do, some people are lazy, and some people just flat out don't care.  I agree it starts in the home... I believe an overweight person does know they are overweight, and many choose the life they live.  If you want to not gain weight, YOU MUST BURN OFF MORE THAN YOU TAKE IN, OR take in the same amount you burn off daily, in order to maintain it.  It makes me sad to see people in automatic chairs in order to get around, because they cannot walk due to the weight.  Life does not have to be that way, and making consistently bad food choices will set you up with a hard road ahead.  Watch, "Supersize ME," and you'll get an eyefull.

find another way to do things easier without much effort-that seems to be the american way now.Hmmm....now why are people getting obese again?One word......Lazy!