It does start with the kids, scanner, and yes mine are athletes so I don't have to worry. But there is a sub-set of kids who aren't JV or Varsity athletes who would benefit from, if offered, introductions to fun sports that'll last them a lifetime because they don't have to be rock stars at them. I am hoping that the Wii fit trend is helping some of the sedentary latchkey kids with computer obsessions too. It ain't no thing to make a fresh meal at night either. It's just so hard to change a lifestyle promoted by clowns.

Those were the day. "Be home before the streetlights come on." That was our boundary. No TV, computer, video game, cell phone, microwave, TV (yes I am that old), or anything else except some sort of ball. God we played hard. Everyone was skinny and in shape. Oh, for those days again. Great post, Scanner. R

Linnn, thats mainly the kids I worry about. With both parents working, they come home, put on a video and eat chips or cookies or something. They have no one to "make" them go out and play.
Dave, we have a lot in common. I remember those days well. We were "made" to come inside. I hated those streetlights. Like you, when they came on, we had to quit playing. Thanks~

Scanner, I was just over at jane smithie's blog and commented that we humans are taking ourselves out, one barrel at a time (oil spill).
Your observations point to another example of my same point. For every so-called technical advancement invented by mankind, there is an equally significant payback exacted by Mother Nature.

L, exactly. Everything is being made to make it easier for us to do nothing, We can't even push the buttons on a phone. Can't get up to change the TV. Most people get mad if they have to wait a few seconds for the computer to boot up!
Smittee, I think that the schools are letting our kids down too. We had to run around during gym class and play basketball or soccer. I hated to take a shower after gym class, but we were made to. I don't know if kids are doing that today.

What? Did you say something my friend? I found this cool game in the ad on your article, HAIR SPA???? AWESOME!!!!!!!

;D Yeah, got to love that, "I'm soooo tired, need to sit down......DROOL.....fries.....uuuuuhhhhhhhhhhgggggg!!!" :D

The fast food companies will soon have to provide a conveyor belt to move the people on line who are too heavy to move on their own.

Tink, if your hairline is receding, just rub your head between your wifes legs three times a week. It won't help the hairline, but it will do wonders for your wife's disposition!
Willie, I wonder if this woman ever heard of "Drive-Thru"?

like this one scanner- don't forget about driveups, you don't even have to walk in to sit on the chair! (As a dog, I have to stay in the car and wait for my plain burger when we visit McDonalds)

Buffy

It was our mission to get away from adults and play all day long, everyday. We only sat in the house when grounded. It is the poor folk who have the most problems with weight. That is because cheap food is filled with corn syrup, which is a national disgrace. I was walking home last night and there sat a line full of cars, most of them way too big and idling, using up gas and waiting for slop to be given to them in a bag cooked not with love but by teenagers working the place at minimum wage. With have lost our minds. A home-cooked balanced meal with family members? HA! That tradition is as dated as old surfing tunes. Good post, Scanner.

Well said, kids are slugs nowadays. They are more likely to develop carpal tunnel thumbs before a bead of sweat will appear. It's definitely killing Americans pound by pound. I was at a diabetes clinic a few weeks ago before and after I saw people grossly overweight who were being chided for not eating properly or exercising sitting down gorging themselves on junk. A waste. I could go on and on. Everywhere you look it seems to be the norm now. o/e *R*

"This may well be the most innovative time in our history, but raising a nation of obese kids is the trade off that will catch-up to us in the not too distant future." SO TRUE!!!!

Like you, I am saddened in how so many kids today stay in their rooms glued to electronics. When I was a young whipper-snapper we, too, came inside only when necessary. Neighborhoods were loud with kids. Today, I travel all over the state and very rarely see kids outside playing. It's pretty deafening....

A few shifts a week on the other side of the counter might help with some of this.

Buffy, I used to play with my dog all the time. We played fetch. He would throw the ball and I'd run and retrieve it!
Spud, we are a lot alike. I played baseball, football, basketball, anything with a ball. If I wasn't playing ball, during the winter I got up and shoveled driveways to make money to buy me a new glove.
older/exasperated, I read where diabetes is attacking people (kids) earlier and earlier. What do people expect. Eating junk food and sitting behind a computer all night. Thanks!
Kit, our neighborhood was crowded with kids running around and just playing tag if nothing else. I never see kids out today. It's too hot. It's too cold. Bullshit. We played in blizzards in N.H.!

This is such a geezer post!! And I know I'll take a lot of crap for saying that. I work with young people and while they're different in some ways from the "good old days that never were" kids of our past, they are doing quite well thank you.

What's with all the kid bashing stuff? A lot of crankiness here today, wouldn't you say?

Who is buying this crap for the kids? Their parents. I remember the days of my boys playing outside, as we did as children. We have become soooo l a z y. Great post.
R~

AND THERE'S NO REQUIRED GYM AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

R.

grif, if this is a geezer post, then a lot of writers are writing them. Obesity and diabetes in children is an epidemic and getting worse.
Daniel, If I was behind the counter, I would have a french fry in my month at all times,hah!
Joy, I don't know if it's fear or what, but kids don't play as much outside as they used to. I'm afraid the next generation will be a lot more medicated. We already have them on Ritilin to slow them down. What's next. Blood pressure pills for kids. It's happening now.
Jonathan, I didn't know that. I thought PE was a requirement. But that just goes to show...,

I echo Wolfman and add in my city (and I understand many others) recess has been virtually eliminated in favor of every minute of the day devoted to academic instruction (wrote a post about it recently). I'm not a "back to the good old days" kind of person because there was a lot wrong about those times. I think we are on a pendulum swing as we play with our new toys. It's time to find the balance. There is a movement in our city to get outside. My grandson is going to a day camp this week. The first day he hated it. Last night he told me how he and two other kids got to be in a canoe on their own and they were pretending to be pirates and he waded in a creek up to his chest and the bottom was all squishy and felt good between his toes.

My kids asked me what I did before Nintendo..That says it all
Rated with hugs

scanner - ABSOLUTELY! We played outside all we could, no matter what the weather was like! Too hot? Too cold?????????? That's just CRAZY talk!

How much of this is attributable back to the economic necessity of both a husband and wife working is a question I'd love to have the answer to. How much is attributable to basic laziness on the part of parents carried over to slovenliness of their kids is another question I'd like the answer to. How much to poverty?
I mentioned in a comment the other day about taking old elementary school class pictures from the 50s-early 60s and counting the number of obese kids. It could be an interesting exercise for 2 reasons. 1) the number of obese/fat kids would be, I'd guess, about 2-3 in a class of 30-35 while today it would be 6-8 in a class of 25-30 and 2) notice the difference in class size? We did pretty well in larger classes didn't we? No Ritalyn but we sure as hell shut up and paid attention.

Dont you just want to take that pic, show it to the lady and point to the exit sign?

I hated being inside as a kid. There was nothing to do! Cartoons were over by 8, and on the weekend by 10. remember PONG? I played that for a total of ~ 6 hours before that got boring.

Nothing, and I mean NOthing beat riding my bike.

I do like me some garlic fries though. the garlic makes it healthy.

You are so right, I couldn't wait to get outside run and play and be as noisy as I wanted. Unfortunately I didn't let my girls play outside unless they stayed where I could see them from the window. That was 30 years ago, if it was today, I wouldn't let them play on my front lawn unless I was outside with them.

Fast food was a Friday night only treat, other than that we ate real stuff every night, even if it was tuna sandwiches. I don't know what's in those frozen things but they have paste like textures. Sometimes being a particular eater pays off, I can't eat the spongy chicken sandwiches or mc rib thing. Maybe it tastes better if you grew up on it, my kids won't eat a lot of that stuff either. But please pass the fries.

grif just sad that I haven't written a "Tink Love Story" in a few, but trust me, I have another love story in the wing!! So stop crying grif, it'll be okay......:D

My blog is all about this subject. Posts like "Too Fat to Fight" are an attempt to figure out fat stuff. My daughters say that the fat people will be the survivors when the famines come because they are carrying a little extra around to get thru the hard times coming.
I like to play 'count the fat people' when I am in a crowd. So far it seems the thinner people are more abundant. And sometimes it is creepy to count the super thin people. They are on the rise too.
It is about the corn syrup and the greed and the fear. We are a nation on the brink of something. Slipping over the edge toward oblivion or taking the next steps into a smarter future. Let's all go outside and play!

Mime, I'm not a "back to the old days" person either. I had a gym class teacher that abused me and a couple of other guys. He was a disgrace to teaching. Also, I can see where in todays world, letting your kids run around some neighborhoods can be dangerous. But we have to get these kids outside for the exercise and for some sun.
Linda, it's really sad that they don't get out and play Kick-Ball like we used to do. Or just riding a bike. Anything for some exercise!
Kit, we used to get punished by taking away our outside privileges. NO, Anything but that!!!
Walter, the drugs they have kids on, especially rambunctious boys, is or should be a crime. It has to take away a kids imagination. A damn shame I say!
Thumbs my bike was my world. I even named her. I'll keep the name to myself for now!
l'Heure Bleue, it is really indicative of the world today that we can't even let our kids out of our yard without being supervised. Man, what a world!
Tink, I believe Grif got up on the wrong side of the boat today!

What came first? The chicken or the egg? I say, it has to start with the parents. By their example will their kids be known. The buck starts with the parents, whether it is eating habits, cell phone, texting and duration of daily television watched. Kids are watching and absorbing everything we model, voice and present to the world with our attitudes. It would be nice to think that the legacy we leave our children is that they will grow up to be well adjusted, happy and successful. That isn't always the outcome, no matter how hard we try.

Although I know statistically that our nation is becoming obese, I do not see this around me where I live. Neither the Bay area (SF) or Lake Tahoe seem to exhibit as much of this phenomenon as other parts of the country. None of the kids in my grandson's day care are over weight, nor the parents I see coming and going. Maybe there is hope for their generation as we become more educated to healthier ways of eating and teaching our children and grand kids proper nutrition, starting with healthy food choices, surrounding them with lots of fruits and veggies of all colors and textures. They tend to eat what is put in front of them if these habits are started when they are finger food age.

Like you, I was in a big family and played outside all day, rain or shine. Our only snacks were fruit, throughout the day...if we took the time away from imagination and activities long enough to go for snacks. Boy has the world changed. Evolved technologically, yes. But it sure has devolved in ways that are being seen in how our kids and grandkids are eating and behaving.

"Go outside and play!"

You are right on the mark! R

Hey, I rated this and left a comment here, where did it go?

Okay here goes again ... The other part of the tragedy is on the other side of the coin - people are starving themselves. Nourishing issues seem to be nurturing issues ... And on the other side of the world, there's not enough food. So sad.

Are you inside my head?

Kids need to run and play. And I'm guilty of letting my kid sit around too much too (but she is skinny as a rail). It starts with the parents, with discipline, with safety, and with options. Parents are afraid to let their kids run around the neighborhood, what with the local sex offender living a block away, and the incredibly fast cars in the cul de sac. I understand it from all sides.

I just went back and read the comments, so many people said so many brilliant things here.

Scanner you have hit the nail square on the head, my friend. It is so bad in this country that the other day I saw a public service annoucement on TV made by Pro football players and it was all about trying to get kids outside to play an hour a day. An hour a day? Good God, when I was a kid you were hard pressed to get us INSIDE for an hour at a time.

Yeah, if kids had to run down the street to visit their friends or ride their bike, instead of text think of how much healthier they would be? It is sad that in some neighborhoods this just isn't possible any more.

Wait a sec. I'm sitting at my computer reading this instead of riding my bike. Besides, I'm not fat--I'm pleasingly plump. Love your tag.R.

funny tag.

scanner, that photo is an apt representation of the laziness that is the root of many obese issues. it is more than eating junk and the woman sitting in line to eat junk proves it. that photo captures the attitude that is the detriment of many.

congrats on the EP my friend

At least the 2 in the front of the line look like the gym is more of a regular habit for them than fast food. The only time I go into MacDonald's is to use the restroom. R

I agree with grif. Too much cliche kid-bashing.

I have 2 sons, ages 10 and 13, who attend public schools - where they have phys ed every day, by the way. When I was in school a million years ago, we only had phys ed once a week.

I can count on one hand the number of obese children I have seen at both schools combined. The parents, on the other hand...

Called mine,

Balckie McFlame The Bike of Pain.

It was all black
The pads had flames on them
I've got the scars to prove the last part.

First, congrats on the front page, my friend.

When I was a kid, we spent a lot of the summer playing baseball or football. We used to play touch football in the street and occasionally move when a car went by. I went by there the other day, in mid-afternoon, and cars were parked bumper-to-bumper. You couldn't play there if you wanted to.

We used to play hardball on the lower field at the high school, any time we wanted during the summer. In the winter, we'd take our sleds and slide down the hill in the snow. A few years ago, they fenced in the field, put down Astroturf, painted permanent soccer lines in it. No more casual use.

It seems like all of society is pushing into inactive lifestyles.

scanner--here's my take. It's about a lot more than kids. As our Lunchlady will tell you, you can only feed kids so much healthy food at lunch--they won't eat it if they don't like it. If they eat chicken nuggets and fries at home, they won't eat whole wheat in a school lunch.

As a people, not just kids and parents, but all of us, eat vast amounts of crap. It's cheap and easy. It's harder, more time-consuming, and more expensive to eat fresh fruits and veg, whole grains, lean meats, etc. Almost all the ingredients in a twinkie are subsidized by Uncle Sam (corn, wheat, soy), but almost all the ingredients in a salad are not. Our farm policies are bass-ackwards.

If we were serious about kids health, we'd provide affordable quality childcare up to age 12. The "latchkey" kids I know aren't allowed outside after school with no one to watch them. I let my kids play outside unsupervised, but I work at home, I'm here to know if someone is injured/lost/gets a flat tire. If I weren't home, I don't think I'd let them out. So the kids who are in because their parents work sit inside, eat, and play video games.

We need national policies on parks and playgrounds. I live in the suburbs with few regulations, and it's too far to the nearest park. What about one lot out of every 50 made into a playground? If you build it, they will come. You can't keep kids OUT of a playground. But the nearest one to my neighborhood is 15 minutes walk away. It's sad.

We need better policies on safe routes to school. Lots of kids ride in cars or take the school bus because we have crappy infrastructure for pedestrians. Our neighborhoods are engineered for cars, not people. Crosswalks, bike lanes, sidewalks, and traffic lights mean that kids (and adults) can walk or ride. But they always fall to the bottom of the budget list behind cars.

Kids live in the world we give them.

We are certainly giving a confusing message to our youth. On one hand youth is subjected to fast food and a sedentary way of life; on the other hand it is shown skinny celebs as the role models to aspire.
I believe when the family unit is broken down and young people are left on their own, it turns into a tale of blind leading the blind. Awakening post, Scanner. ~R

And congrats on the EP!

Ding! scanner gets a cover!

Scanner,

I do my bit here. I live in a state with a 40% obesity stat. I am vegetarian. And today I got diehard meat eaters to have some of my olives, feta cheese, and roasted garlic. I have even gotten one to eat veggie burgers and she shares my crumpets with havarti cheese.

I once had a bumper sticker that said 4 out of 5 cannibals recommend vegetarians. I wish I could get another. It would fit well with my: Tact is for those who are not witty enough to be sarcastic.

As a family we are trying to eat more fruit, fresher foods, local foods, and we are exercising -- that is the big one. We take bike rides.

And I am happy to say that my children prefer my faux nuggets and sausages to the real ones.

Now for naysayers of vegetarian fare meant to mimic the "real" things, please just lay off. I have heard it all. Please.

I am coming in here way late *sigh*, but I do have an observation. My guilty pleasure is a reality show called Dance Your Ass Off, where the merely-chubby-to-clinically-obese participants work out, eat right and dance the pounds away every week. It's inspiring and positive and I love the show. But the proof of your post can be found in a candid clip where one girl - probably 5'3" and nearly 300 pounds - has never eaten a vegetable - other than ketchup - in her life (curse you Ronald Reagan!) At the same time, there are tv ads for several new products that mask that nasty vegetable taste with fruit, and lots of sugar, for those who can't bear the thought of a green bean. It's sad, and avoidable. But it's an uphill climb for some and it's a hundred grand prize alone that's going to get that DYAO girl to eat her veges.

I see parents carry snacks in their purses so that their child is NEVER hungry or thirsty - Heaven forbid! I see kids snacking at the park at 2 PM, opening boxes of Animal Crackers right there in the grocery store, sucking down big boxes of juice in their strollers. Remember when, at 5:00 PM, we'd complain that we were hungry and Mom would say, "Well, dinner's in an hour - now get out of the kitchen!?" That doesn't happen anymore. The granola bars, the fishy crackers, the string cheese - it's all available 24-7 lest the little babes get a hunger pang. I don't even think kids know how to be hungry and deal with it any more. It's seen as something bad that needs to be addressed immediately.

In our house, there were no snacks between meals, no seconds, nothing to drink but water with meals, and dessert only on someone's birthday or a holiday. Fast food was a rare treat. If we didn't like what was for dinner, we were free to not have dinner that night. We also loved playing outside, and my mom often had a hard time getting us in the house at night. If we tried to come into the house during the summer, my mom would throw our butts outside and lock the door. Surprise! We all grew up trim.

Here.Here. It is just so common for everyone to give kids crap. Do you have any idea how much candy my kids got as rewards from there teachers the end of this year? Teachers!! I love teachers, they have the hardest job around and they do wonders for my children, but it is just so, so,so common they don't even realize it . They shouldn't give my kids over sized hershy bars for winning a competition or king sized starburst because they were a mentor to another child. I don't give my kids candy everyday. I'm far from perfect on teaching them, but this much sugar is so common that our teachers just hand it out too. We have failed our children. r.

It's so easy to tell a drunk to put down that beer or a pill popper to go get help... it's not so easy to tell an obese person to put down that burger. But we have to find a way to make our children move even though the world is animated and at their fingertips. Way to go, Scanner.

We need national policies on parks and playgrounds. I live in the suburbs with few regulations, and it's too far to the nearest park. What about one lot out of every 50 made into a playground? If you build it, they will come. You can't keep kids OUT of a playground. But the nearest one to my neighborhood is 15 minutes walk away. It's sad.

You'd think so - but I live in a suburban area that has TONS of parks. There are very few homes here that don't have a park within a 10-minute walking distance. And they are deserted. I am always surprised if I see more than one other child when I take/took my kids. We are in a very low-crime area, and our parks are very well maintained - the kids still aren't there.

We also have safe walking routes to most schools. Cute old crossing guards and the whole bit. We have sidewalks almost everywhere (there is one rural school that this definitely would not apply to, though.) I still don't see kids walking or riding bikes very often. I'm not sure there is ANYTHING the government could do, short of offering personal door-to-door chaperones to each child, that would make parents feel okay about letting their kids walk to school much before the age of 14 or 15. Honestly, I think our circumstances are as close to ideal as possible here, and I don't think I'd let my kids walk the 3/4 mile to school. I think I'd die of anxiety wondering if they arrived safely.

Survival of the fattest; it's the American way!

i don't know why i was shocked by that picture, but i am. but you're right. if you have to sit while you wait in line, you've pretty much written yourself off. i do my best to get the kids outside and playing, but they aren't interested in sports like i was. their mom ran track in high school, but isn't into any other sports. i feel sorry for this generation. i was always outside running around and playing. i just don't see that much anymore.

During summers with my grandma, she booted us out after breakfast and only loet us back in for lunch and dinner. We rode bikes, played tag, hide and seek, climbed trees, played kickball, etc... Had no problem finding things to do and being active. We slept well too! r

This is a really complicated issue and not simple to solve. 1. Many kids don't play out in the street anymore because both parents work and kids are in other kinds of child care settings....and times have change...people are more hesitant to let their kids run around with out parental supervision 2. The food industry has a big role in this..I am reading lots of books and would be happy to list...but $$ makes it unlikely that this will change
3. We are an addictive society ...Lots of stuff on this. The internet and email have contributed plenty to our need to have access to answers ASAP. However, I personally believe that the level of awareness been raised The politics of fat are still embroiled in just that politics.

Such a sad way to let our children be, such a lazy way.

Funny when we were kids my mom would kick us outside and lock the doors so we wouldn't run in and out. Growing up I thought that was such a mean thing to do, but we played until dusk and made up games if we had too. In short we were active all day long. TV was reserved for Saturday morning cartoons and after that two or three hour period it was outside. Fast food was an incredibly rare and special treat. Now, with my own kids it all makes sense.

Amen brother. That picture is mind-boggling

I know it's not PC (not that I give a shit) but in my day we called them Fatso. There were fewer of them. Maybe there's a connection and we should bring Fatso back. Tubby works too.

Whoops! I hit the little thumb button, believing it would give me the opportunity to vote a thumbs down. Alas! Yes, Mr. Scanner, you are a hypocrite and worse. You vilify a woman whose habits and circumstances you know almost nothing about, and encourage others to do the same. You make her a scapegoat for real social problems--Americans' lousy nutritional choices on average, the changing nature of childhood play on average--for which there is no reason to think she bears any more responsibility than anyone else. What exactly are this lady's offenses? 1) waiting in a fast food line on one occasion. (Just like the beefcake soldier dude ahead of her is doing. Just like scanner frequently does per his own testimony.)
2) sitting in a chair (when you have no idea even how able-bodied she is) oh... and 3) she's pudgy. Pudgy people. Yeah, what right do they ever have to sit in chairs and eat food? They're the ones who're making this whole country go downhill! Let's get their pictures out there so everybody can hate 'em up! That's a lot easier than taking action for positive social change our ownselves.

Very true Scanner. We are such an all or nothing country. What we need is moderation. R

Jesus I'm sick of reading so many excuses! "The kids won't eat it....." "The kids don't want to play outside...." "It's too dangerous to ride bikes..." etc etc etc.

You guys are exactly the reason for this epedemic. FIX THE PROBLEMS! Make nutrition and exercise a priority in your life and it will be thusly for your children. If all they are offered is healthy food, that is what they will eat, I promise you. If their only choices for fun involve physical activity, then that is what they will do.

Get active in your community to make it safer, build parks, learn how to shop and cook healthy foods.......in other words: Get off your own fat ass!

(Thanks for letting me get this off my chest!) Great post Scanner, and congrats on the cover......what a lovely surprise to see you there.

Don't worry, Scanner. With the depression continuting the way it is, we'll all be losing weight here shortly. When it's down to eating ally cat or starving, and scraping by on a few noodles per week, the fat will go away.

On the other hand, I have to admire the fact that the lady wasn't putting on any pretenses about her disgusting nature.

It was as if to say "I'm fat, I eat fast food, I have to rest, so what?"

Ahhh America.

We'll get better soon, trust me!

I propose we take over the state of Montana and convert it back to old style rules. Have to bike there if less than 10 miles, have to put on more sweaters if it is cold, must stay outdoors unless raining, but you still have to walk in it. Have to have at least 5 practical skills for meeting basic life requirements that doesn't involve a trip to a restaurant, Walmart, the mall. I am sure you can come up with a list of more of those things.

Life has really changed. Don't know what is next on the horizon, but Wally comes to mind...R

awesome you got an EP!

Congrats on a well deserved cover and EP!!!!!

....Wow. That picture is the best. Rated and thumbs up!

itchyfootmoe took the words out of my mouth.

"Before everyone who is overweight jumps down my throat, let me clarify some things. People who have medical problems like enlarged glands or some other problem, I'm not taking a shot at you. It can't be helped. People who are what my mom calls "Big Boned" really don't have a choice. It's in the genes. But that doesn't mean you have to be unhealthy."

What do you know about the woman in the picture? She's overweight and sitting down. Why is she overweight? Does she have a medical condition? Does she have an injury that keeps her from standing? Is she ordering a Whopper or a salad? What did she eat for the previous 7 days? Are overweight people not allowed to ever eat a quick fast food meal?

I don't have a problem with your general argument - people DO need to step up and take responsibility for their weight problems - but we won't get there by pointing at overweight people and blaming them for our obesity epidemic, just like we won't solve poverty by pointing at the homeless and telling them to get a job.

whoo! EP and cover! dude!

people need to cook their own food. and i don't mean heating up packaged stuff that comes from the frozen section. an adult cooks and teaches the kids how to do it. then that kid becomes a parent and teaches his/her kids. and none of that blather about how there isn't time. there is. everybody eats at the same table at the same time for dinner. and playing outside is mandatory, limited tv and ass-sitting time computer time. it ain't rocket science.
~~steps off the soapbox~~

Great psot Scanner - congrats on the EP!!

Scanner, congratulations on the EP/Cover!
How much did you have to send to Emily?


{[R]}

Insightful post---I know when we lived with long commutes, it was almost impossible to stay away from Chic-Fil-A fries....where we live now it's almost an opposite issue where five fast food restaurants have closed since we moved here due to lack of biz.....hmmm, that might have to be a post...

which is why childhood diabetes is on the rise right along with obesity (source: the CDC) and this next generation will be the first in centuries to not outlive their parents. frightening stats that sound like something from the doomsday book, but accurate all the same. it's no longer melodramatic to mention someone should, as you said so eloquently scanner, "drive their car off a cliff," because frankly, the quality of life might be better than the alternative of sitting your fat arse in a chair while you wait for your gutbomb with the e. coli and ketchup on the side.

i feel like we are a depressed nation. Most adults I know are scared and worried. I see young people who have no aspirations. They don't believe they have a future. I think we are in big trouble.

Good post. We weren't in the house much either as kids. My mother threw us out even in 40 below temps and we'd go play in the barn.

I am much more sedentary than I used to be and I blame it all on computers! Seriously, it is up to me to discipline my "screen" time, which is why I'm not around these parts as much any more.

My husband and I travel a fair amount, and every time we return we are amazed by the high percentage of obese people here. No where else in the world that we've been to has this kind of population profile. I had a very pretty, Chinese, fat cousin. Chinese tend to be really tiny, so she was an anomaly, but was never excluded, shunned, mocked for it. Neither was she excused. She lost weight. By eating less. No matter how many exceptions there may be the simple rule is: overeating, especially eating poorly + lack of movement = getting overweight. One of the most unforgettable photos I've seem is of escalators to an American gym entrance!

Scanner I overlooked 2 things:
1. I completely agree with your complaint, and with the points of your post. But I have to add that if it were TRUE that the lady in the picture was sitting down out of laziness, in a fast food line no less, then it serves as good visual ammunition for your points. But you do not know that to be a fact. She could be sitting down on account of an injury or a chronic health condition. Her choice of diet is a separate issue and one that does not require you to draw our attention to her specifically. I had to sit down frequently while relearning to stand and walk. Assumptions can distract and even deviate us from the truth, and often from fairness. Using this picture and this woman in this way encourages these assumptions. I hope you do not mind me saying so and I do so because you strike me as a very kind person and this is a sort of slip that you might like friends pointing out. If, on the other hand, you had created a hypothetical scenario...

2. I just realized your EP and FP status - congratulations! Good topic for both!

First let me say congrats on the EP. The new editor is impressing the shit out of me.

I've been thinking about writing on this subject for a while myself. Check out who uses the handicapped parking at the local Walmart sometime. It looks like our main handicap is obesity. Maybe we should move the handicapped parking to the furthest corner of the lot.

That is one of the saddest pictures I've ever seen.

Earlier this week, I went to Wal-Mart. As I was leaving, an obese woman who walked with a cane asked me to go and tell the greeter to bring out the motorized cart. She was about halfway through the crosswalk and couldn't keep walking.
Talk about incentive. I've been too terrified not to go to the gym.

This picture is symbolic of what many crossroads of 'progress' have brought us - obesity. I am overweight right now for the first time in my life for any significant length of time - but I know why - and even then, I still try to be healthy in getting movement, etc.

I loved that we played outside, except it cost many of us our innocence (not the playing, but the over extension of freedom). What I would love to see is more parents engaged with their kids in outdoor play. I wish it was encouraged at all levels, not with schools forced to go to 'pay to play' due to budget restraints because some asshat in Washington wants to get reelected and doesn't have a common sense bone about economics and a healthy workforce (which then lowers health care costs - duh).

I could go on and on like you Scanner. I sincerely hope for a return to more 'village living'.

i'm a gastronomic abuser... you make some fine points. your EP is well deserved.

I have to be honest, I'm a bit put off by this post. Not because the overarching point of runaway obesity is anything other than alarming, but you've used that as a thinly veiled mechanism for having a go at people who are overweight.

Not true, you insist? Well, your photograph is titled something along the lines of "Fat Girl Sits In Line At Fast Food Joint" (no, it doesn't load so quickly that people can't read the placeholder text - which you provided).

Then there is your reply to a comment made:
Willie, I wonder if this woman ever heard of "Drive-Thru"?

For those readers who are making fun of the woman depicted in that photograph, how do you know she doesn't have thrombophlebitis or any one of a number of respiratory illnesses that might limit her mobility?

You don't. Yet you are comfortable criticizing her for needing a chair, all because you assume it is due to her weight. Without ever knowing if this was her one trip a month to a fast food parlour.

If you ask me, Americans have far more to be concerned about when it comes to their continued desire to assume the worst of their fellow human beings. Unlike obesity, I don't think you'll be curing that any time soon.

I would also add that finding this particular post on the cover, and with an Editor's Pick no less, severely disappoints me. I'm certain a more genteel write-up on this subject is available.

EP! Cool, scanner.

So, so true. I think my generation was the last one to "go outside and play", now it's "stay inside, shush, play a video game." Did you ever watch a documentary called Super Size Me? Scary, scary, scary.

My kids love to play outside and the littlest one cannot stand still. The oldest one would rather stay glued to his computer screen. So, of course, we have to work on that.

My reply was too long for this forum - it can be found here:

http://open.salon.com/blog/lovely_me/2010/06/17/reply_to_scanner_and_open_salon_editors

For those readers who are making fun of the woman depicted in that photograph, how do you know she doesn't have thrombophlebitis or any one of a number of respiratory illnesses that might limit her mobility?

I don't think anyone is making fun of THAT particular woman. She could have been hired to pose for that photo, she could be unwell, she could be in line for an iced tea - who knows?

I think that the photograph represents the overriding problem in our country of people who are lazy, unfit and eat too much crap. And that's what people are responding to - the idea conveyed by the photo, not that woman in particular, whatever her name is.

There is a similar picture of an obese child at McDonalds, which you've probably seen - it's all over the internet. The same concept applies. I don't know this kid personally or his story - but what the photo represents is striking. Here it is:
http://www.fastfoodfree.org/Nutrition%20Obesity/fat-kits-eating-mcdonalds.jpg

R for all of the right reasons. My thoughts are echoed by many above me.

My kid is smarter than that, he just went for a walk in all this heat, while I sat at the computer. I need to learn this. I need to learn this. I need to learn this. Damn.

Amen! It is the parents' responsibility to ensure their children exercise. Exercise early in life is the key to health. Excellent and timely post, scanner. R

Some of those people cannot control their over-eating, but they can do something about it. So I'm with on this one.

BTW, congrats on the cover and EP (it's better than ED)

R

I'm sorry, but to me, this is a cruel and hurtful post. While most of society seems to feel that it's acceptable to be judgemental toward fat people, the reality is that it's no different than bashing any other segment of the population with a disability. Overweight and obesity are much more complicated issues than merely too much fast food and too little exercise. To label these people as lazy gluttons is callous and disrespectful. The fact that you're choosing to make fun of a photo of a woman whose story you do not know is even more disturbing. What if that woman were your mother or your aunt? Would you want others judging her like that?

Yes, exercise and healthy eating is great. Demeaning others simply because of the size or shape of their bodies is not.

I used to work with a program for new mothers as a mentor. I was amazed at how many of them didn't know how to cook. In a far-flung society, where young mothers and fathers are raising their children far from their own parents, they have no one to teach them. Fast food is easy, and cheap. You don't see the trap at first. I remember the scene from Super Size Me where Morgan Spurlock says that even though he knew McDonald's food was bad (in very way) he began to crave it, more and more of it, like an addiction. I believe it!

I missed this the other day and first I must say an EP!!! Yippee it is well deserved.
Then I must add I agree with most of what you write, my only disagreement is homework. Kids have SO much homework sometimes they just can't get outside and that SUCKS!
But for everything else hell yes!

Thank goodness we have upstanding members of society like you to preach to us here on OS and tell us what is right and wrong with the world. Between you, Thoth and Fusun, I feel like I've made it to the Harvard of social behavior training. You three are like the holy trinity of OS. I'm so blessed to have found you all here in one spot. I imagine that if I could just manage to live my life with as much flawless perfection as you Scanner, then I would be so much happier and joyful. And if only I could live up to Thoth's eagle eye view of how women should dress and act in the world (oh, and learn how to wear a leather speedo and play water polo --whoot whoot whoot). And finally to meet Fusun's unwaivering eye for what is truly right and just. Wow. Just WoW!!! Finally, OS has a brillant editor who knows how to pick exceptional posts for the cover. Way To Go!!! RRrrrrrrrrrrrrrated!!!!!

I'd be a little careful pointing fingers at people like the one in the picture, dude. You are making some wild ass assumptions about people you know nothing about.

My Suzy would have needed a chair like that to "stand" in line like that during her last few months before needing the wheelchair full time.

P.S. Shouldn't you be ending a post like this one by waving your cane around and yelling at the kids to get the hell off your grass?

You're outlining a real problem. Not in the most sensitive way I've ever seen, but it's a real problem. You've identified at least one cause: childhood inactivity. There are others:

With real incomes not rising in nearly forty years but real expenses rising, households have by and large gone from single earner to dual earner to attempt to keep up. That means less parental time and parents home less often.

Food is more processed now. There's more food out there with empty calories. Also more drinks, way more drinks.

There are more sedentary activities that are attractive to children than there used to be.

Children feel less safe (and their parents feel that they're less safe) outside unsupervised than used to be true, which will cut down on outdoor activities.

None of it's all that easy to correct even though it must be corrected.

I did actually think about the time I was recovering from back surgery and had to take seats in places like Target just for a break. Others here asked "what if she is ill, hurt, etc". If she is all, in addition to her overweight, the last thing she should be eating is Burger King because it is crap food that makes people sick. People eating junk food diets have more illness, and have a longer and harder time recovering from illness and injury, plus the myriad mood disorders and sleep problems they develop. Because the food they are eating doesn't actually give them the nutrients they need to heal. One of my jobs is at a weight loss clinic. I am not skinny and I have at times been too heavy. I know the ins and outs of how food affects the body and mind on the physical level. I know the biochem. I also know how it feels. I know how much better my patients feel in almost all health categories after a few weeks of a healthy diet with NO diet soda or food additives. Blood pressure goes down, sleep improves, cholesterol and blood sugar drop, allergies clear up, mood improves, skin gets softer, bowel movements get better, they have tremendous energy. ten pounds of weight loss is a remarkable release on the joints, the heart and the lungs. We all can have reasons for eating too much, but obesity is more than overeating. It is eating garbage and processed food (like white flour). And yes, it causes glandular failure from exhaustion. Which can be fixed for many by stopping eating garbage.

Scanner--love as I do, this post was just a little bit mean.

I'm a fattie. I'm not going to lie or sugar-coat it. I do have a medical condition which CONTRIBUTED to my weight (actually, three conditions), but I think I was destined to be fat (hopefully not forever) thanks to the many events of my life that made people scary, feelings terrifying and food soothing.

Yes, childhood obesity is the worst its ever been. Hell, even when I was a little bit chunky as a kid, I can look at old pictures and see how "normal" I look compared to children today. Girls under the age of 10 should not have breasts; yet many do. Same goes for many little boys. But we do not know how these kids arrived at their bodies anymore than we know how the woman in the picture you posted arrived at hers.

I was sexually abuse by an uncle when I was three. Imagine a healthy, wide-eyed toddler with big blue eyes, baby teeth and a little brown ringlets being forced to perform fellatio on 20-something-year-old man. That was me as a kid. Ten years later, that same little girl is sexually assaulted by an older boy in a public pool. And nobody believes her for the longest time. When she's 18, she's held prisoner for 22 hours on a strange man's boat and forced to perform every variety of sex act on this man until he finally releases her. She's too ashamed to go to the police and press charges because she feels complicit in the event.

Cheesecake seems like a safe friend, so does the Coke you wash it down with later. French fries with ketchup are a silent therapist. Denial, as your waistline grows, is powerful. Mirrors? Who really needs them anymore?

Obesity is as complicated and troubling as alcohol addiction. Where an alcoholic or drug addict can live without the object of their abuse, everyone has to eat. Learning when and how to draw the line is harder. I know that one drink can send me back into the spiral of addiction. Food? It's so complicated.

I know lots of parents are just plain lazy these days. Plus, some people don't know the first thing about cooking. I was blessed to learn from an excellent professional chef who was also my mother. Still, when I used to run around all day and work 18 hours, drive-thrus were my salvation.

Most people know the basics of weight loss. It's simple math, really. Lower your caloric input and increase your cardio output. But if you have other complications and no support, it's not exactly easy. I even had my stomach stapled. But I could only lose so much. You'd be shocked at how little I eat every day but manage to stay so fat. Physiology is not always our friend.

I just hope that you and all the other fired up posters to this blog take these extra things into consideration. Not every fat person chooses to be that size. Some are trapped in their bodies. You don't have like them, but show some compassion and allow them a little dignity. We are all human beings, after all.

i am torn about this thread: while i see some good, legitimate points being made, at the same time i am put off by the mean-spirited judgemental feeling to it and some of the replies.

i am tired of hearing parents labeled as lazy. in many, many instances nowdays i think parents are overwhelmed. finances, housing, school issues...all are taking a toll.

not everyone is into sports. that doesn't make them bad, just not into sports. my experience was that most 'jocks' as we called them, were insufferably arrogant. we were anti-sport. that's not to say we weren't outside most of the time, but it was a safer world back then, or at least it seemed so.

a lot of the replies feel like they fall into the 'i walked 100 miles to school every day and it was uphill both ways' mentality. i will tell you: i would not be a kid today for love nor money.

there are a lot of things wrong with society today, but i don't think calling an overweight kid 'tubby' is going to fix it. my kids were taught that name calling was mean.

i smoke. i have no intention of living forever. how many of us have bad habits of any type that would leave us open for humiliation?? even judging a whole nation and telling everyone else to get off their lazy arses while we feel superior isn't a good habit, imho.

So true, Scanner...so true. The sin is in allowing lethargy and apathy about health to become the standard. How can we live in joy and think with clarity when the body is so overwhelmed by itself?

EP. Yeah!

I always knew you were beautiful.

@scanner
First off is that a new banner or have I not been paying attention?
Second and this really kind of could be the first congratulations on the whole EP thingy.

I think the obesity is also tied to how children's days are scheduled - especially now with all the educational pressure (testing and whatnot). With the move toward longer school days, children will just be getting out of school when the streetlights go on. It's sad. We have to find a way to incorporate play time into that structure in such a way that a child is raised that play/exercise time is part of her/his daily structure; not separate from it. For instance on days, when I wasn't being lazy like the woman in the photo, I would walk to the school to pick him up and he would ride his bike back home. Of course now that school is out, I've gone back to being lazy but I'm fighting my way out of it.

Good expression of your concern. R

Scanner, you young whippersnapper, it's time you and Uncle Clark had a chat. I was having computer problems yesterday, which is my excuse for why I didn't visit as many blogs as I'd wanted to. I came here this morning thru the back door from Lovely Me's blog, where I came upon some dissent, shall we say, and, with a sense of urgency, arrived here post haste. And what I found, was, well, that Lovely Me is right. This post, tho well-intended, is insensitive.

I hope you can see that you've not only hurt people with weight-control problems that are not related to laziness or stupidity, but you've bent over and given a free kick to the people here who don't like you anyway, who comment on your posts only when they can do so with sarcasm and condescension. They are superior thinkers, after all, and, of course, writers first and bloggers a distant and trivial second. Amongst themselves, they smirk and titter and dismiss the bloggers, whom they may find quaint and even endearing but certainly, when it suits them, expendable.

As your favorite uncle and volunteer corner man, here's a tip for obviating their snarky jabs, which will even eliminate any opportunity for them to score with anything other than a clumsy roundhouse, which they're no doubt too self-aware to allow - in the ring, anyway: Stay on your toes, keep your stance solid and present as small a target as possible - a la Floyd Patterson.
When you attack a social problem that might have extenuating circumstances, e.g. obesity, alcoholism, drug dependency, Tourette Syndrome, attack the social consequences without targeting individuals. If the individual is an asshole, of course, then the gloves come off. Kapish, Dude?

Awright, there's the bell. Remember, keep that left up...

How do you know that the lady in that chair is sitting there out of laziness or whatever over-weight-influence you could think of? Maybe she has other legitimate problems that have nothing to do with her weight.

Not that the other things you say don't have merit, they do. But you don't what the deal is with the lady in that picture. Or maybe you do?

When I look around me and see all the fat kids and their parents I wonder if this is the new normal in our country. If you check out the clothing in the various "marts" (K and Wall for example), most of the clothes are for large sizes. Face it, fat is the new normal. Good post r

It really is tough these days with TV, video games and computers. It's hard to say "no" because every kid has them and they can always go over to someone else's house to do it. I was rarely allowed to watch TV growing up so I was always playing. I'm always shocked when my kids come to ask me what they should do when they're not allowed to plug themselves in. These things seem to destroy their imagination. Then I get a big knot in my stomach and think I'm a terrible mother! On the bright side, there's NO junk food in my house and my children haven't heard the words "Do you want fries with that?" more than a handful of times - only in emergencies during road trips. :-) R

Maybe it's her lucky chair and she didn't want to lose it.

Yes the children of today are very different from past generations....their more "mature" or so they think....they'd rather play the latest video game than go play outside...........they're becoming parents earlier.............us adults need to set positive examples for the children in our lives, rather they're ours or not.........Great piece

Scanner, there are so many things that contribute to obesity. Fast food is most certainly at the top of the list and following close behind is too much down time. Your post is food for thought. :)

If my dad was good. He'd get the pig's snout. He never got it.

I'm taking my cellphone to the grave. Keep yours on, S., because I'll be calling you.

Diamonds&Rust - I don't think anyone is making fun of THAT particular woman. She could have been hired to pose for that photo, she could be unwell, she could be in line for an iced tea - who knows?

Really? Even though the post itself says, "If the above picture doesn't make you sick, then we have crossed over into an overweight America that is getting fatter and fatter by the minute."

Even though the following comments were made?

"Willie, I wonder if this woman ever heard of "Drive-Thru"?"
"like this one scanner- don't forget about driveups, you don't even have to walk in to sit on the chair!"
"A few shifts a week on the other side of the counter might help with some of this."
"Dont you just want to take that pic, show it to the lady and point to the exit sign?"
"funny tag.

scanner, that photo is an apt representation of the laziness that is the root of many obese issues. "

That is simply going through only HALF the comments here. So, care to try again?

Seriously, I'd have thought you would have actually READ the comments, Diamonds&Rust, before making that statement. As I did before making MINE.

Home by six or we don't eat. Staying outside all the time except to... same same same. Seven kids at our table too! And the big piece was always for our dad too! Great memories. Oh, and your post on obesity in our kids is a Whopper!

I'm coming to this party a bit late, so no doubt all of the cake is already gone, especially the big piece. But without passing judgment on the woman in the picture or the numerous comments above, I offer a tale of two hometowns - the town where I live now is very "sports-crazy" for the children; two of my kids play rec-sponsored lacrosse and soccer and most, if not all, grade and middle school kids are involved. In fact, the biggest threat that the schools made to us with the recent budget cuts (NJ epidemic) was that parents would have to pay for their kids to play school sports. Contrast that against my old hometown, which I wrote about sometime ago - that's where Donna Simpson resides - the woman who is striving to eat her way to 1,000 pounds. Certainly it is easy to take her to task. Yet, the media ate it up (pun intended) and word is that she is getting her own reality show. Quite a role model she is. R.

Right-o. I live in Oklahoma City, the second-fattest city in America (after Miami). The lady in the picture is thin by our standards. We're entering the period in history in which obesity is more prevalent than starvation. It's led to an epidemic in diabetes and a hundred other things. And it's only going to get worse.

Read this post today and yes the lady is sitting, but there could be many unobvious reasons, a bad knee, a bad back and many other problems that don't have to do with being over weight.

I have to be a little defensive here as I just came from Arby's tonight. There was a point in time when my knees were hurting for who knows what reason, maybe even my weight, but most likely from standing 8 to 10 hours a day on a hard cement floor in a convenience store. It hurt like you would not believe to walk or stand after I finally got to sit down. (Did I mention we didn't get breaks during that time period? We didn't... You might be thinking that is illegal and I did too, but apparently even though it is an OSHA suggestion, stores do not have to follow that rule...The company I worked for did eventually get sued and settled out of court, accepting no real blame.)

My point is that I would occassionally break down and use one of those motorized scooters to do my shopping when I couldn't put it off any more.

As for children needing exercise, I agree 100%. I have always had the rule, if you are rough housing, take it outside, but I am also one to allow all my children's friends over, especially the ones I wasn't sure of them hanging out with. That way I could keep or pretend to keep an eye on them.

Yes, as a nation, we need to do something about our eating habbits and excercise habbits, says the woman, who just brought home a bunch of frozen dinners 'cause I hate to cook. I especially hate to heat up the house in the summer.

Mainly I just wanted to say something to add to your interesting blog.

Hugs