Last month they said it was a cold virus. These scientists are idiots.

While saying fat kids are stupid is insulting enough, the real message here is that there is no such thing as personal responsibility or accountability. Just like the crowd that says alcoholism is a disease.

We have choices as to what we eat, how much we eat and how much physical activity we exert. There a small number of obese folks with thyroid problems, but the vast majority of overweight people just eat too much.

More junk science. No wonder this profession is no longer respected.

I would also like to see the numbers of how many of these kids spent more than 25 hours a week in front of a TV or xbox. That alone might damage their little brains along with jamming the previously mentioned Twinkiesand junk food down their gullets. Then washing it down with a 2 litter of soda pop. I think it's sad that parents don't love their kids enough to say no to buying crap food and not regulating the child's couch potato time.

As a study it is also not very broad in scope, less than 100 people does not really give a representative sample of the U.S.

They should have gone farther in the study and tried to see if mental exercises could help reverse the damage (or unformed areas) like they do for patients with head traumas. Meditation, practicing picking up food and putting it down while saying no over and over, ect.

Perhaps I'm missing something, but did this story seriously say "children aren't fat because they lack willpower, they're fat because they lack impulse control."

Okay, so what's the difference? And if it's just a matter of semantics, who cares?

I particularly like this quote:

"It could be that their brains are either wired differently, or damaged in a particular way that leads them to gain weight from overeating," he said.

I thought by definition everyone would gain weight from overeating. If it's possible not to gain weight from overeating, then what does "overeating" mean to this guy?

Great I thought I was fat because I eat too much, the wrong kinds of food and don't exercise enough. Turns out I'm just retarded. Pass the potato chips please.

@James82

Um...Please do not generalize. There are many people whom are thin that eat ALOT and overeat of food and never EVER in fact gaining anyweight no matter how much they eat we call them people with "fast metabolism".

My take on this article., its generally there life style. THEY MAKE THEMSELVES FAT! The obese people we are taling about DRIVE CARS, EAT JUNKFOOD OFTEN, LACK PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN DAILY LIFE AND YES, LACK WILLPOWER!

The show BIGGEST LOSER PROVES that if obese people have hte will to workout and stay active they CAN LOSS WEIGHT and become healthy. So all you obese people do some damn exercise and stop making excuses!

Too funny Devil's Son.

whats the solution janet?

you people are mean!!!!

As someone who is a researcher in the field, I have to say your comment is greatly misinformed. Insulin resistance and diabetes are multi-factoral diseases that disregulate multiple signaling pathways in the body, and in a tissue-specific manner. There was a time when we thought leptin would fix the problem because mice lacking the receptor, or the protein, would gain massive amounts of weight, but when applied to people it just didn't work. The same is true of adipokines like adiponectin and resistin. The mechanisms that underlie physiology are complex beyond what most people can see and we can only piece things together one protein at a time. Articles like this misrepresent what is actually in the primary literature, which none of you read, because it sensationalizes small findings and places them as absolutes. It becomes tiresome to constantly defend what science does when it has extended the lives of every person in the world and continues to improve our way of life, yet no one thinks it works.

Well professor, you might have better luck defending "what science does" if you came down from the mount to speak about it in clear and concise terms.

The fact average readers don't pour over the "primary literature" that you might doesn't mean you're informed and others are ignorant. What it does speak to are a few factors that I believe you were trying to communicate: First, that these conditions are more complex than people think, even though nearly everyone knows someone now with diabetes. Your point about the findings of individual studies being misunderstood seems to me to speak to the need to work harder at clarity when explaining findings to the general public, not a pass to assume the general public (and the media informing it) are just too dumb for the job. Finally, there is much science does not know, which hardly negates the need for scientific research or discovery.

In other words professor, thicken up your skin and learn to communicate science to non-scientists if you want to move past that frustration.

There weren't? Show your proof please. Show your research.

Oh, and the difference between now and 200 years ago would be that there were no fast food places, you had to grow your own food, you had to work for everything you had, your food had no chemicals, no genetic changes, and no growth hormones. The food itself was vastly different than what is almost exclusively available at resturants and grocery stores. Your comment is tactless, ignorant, and makes you appear to be a total horses arse.

2WYLDE 4U. . . .I thought you had a good point until your last sentence and now I realize you just have no class.

I hate to say it but I agree with tornadoes. Yes...there were no fast food restaurants 200 years ago...but there were 30 years ago and there wasn't an obesity problem then. It has gotten to be OUT OF CONTROL. Yes in some cases food has gotten more caloric...but I don't believe that PEOPLE have gotten dumber. There's WAY more education today about healthy eating than there was 10 years ago let alone 30 or 200. Morbidly obese people are eventually going to run out of excuses and I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet.

As this epidemic becomes more of a problem in the United States I am starting to believe that laziness and victimizing is the culprit. All these articles are written giving excuses, yet not one talks about kids or adults remaining obese AFTER being put on a strict diet and work out regiment. That's because they don't even try! If they did they would lose weight! And then these discussion boards FILL UP with overweight people defending their lifestyle...but the bottom line is...if they were active, healthy, calorie-conscious people...they wouldn't be overweight...period.

great statement

good post

No, I'm pretty sure you were taking a jab at fat kids. This article does indeed state that fat kids are stupid; to be fair, it doesn't think it's their fault. I weight 147 so I'm definitely not fat, but I can assure you I at least know there's one fat female student in Harvard, and most of the female bosses at many corporations are fat too. Hope is not lost after all.

What horrifies me so much about these responses (and in particular, this gem) is how ignorant the public is when it comes to science. A study contributes to the greater body of scientific knowledge, and either stands up to the scrutiny of other scientists in the field or is rejected. The authors of this study do not claim that every obese individual is obese because of the factors they tested. All they claim is that they observed, in this particular study, a statistically significant correlation.

Another testament to your ignorance is the fact that you think the sensationalized headlines used by journalists are anything more than attempts to pique the interest of the public. Read the body of scientific literature pertaining to this subject and then form your opinions.

The United States is no longer close to being the greatest power in the world because its people are so ignorant and dismissive of science and technology.

You write like you should know that 100 subjects hardly provide enough data to come to the conclusions they come to in this article.

Furthermore, they aren't even able to claim any kind of causation; only a possible correllation between development of certain parts of the brain and body size.

So, ultimately, they are saying in this article that they've studied a very small sample of the population, and were able to come to no solid conclusions about whether or not frontal lobe development and body size are related to one another, but they may be related (or may not be).

However, this is not how the article has been spun. Unfortunately, the writer of this article has chosen to put this inconclusive data forward as a way to say that "fat kids have smaller brains than thin kids do."

And that, dear readers, is what makes this an ignorant article.

good post

good post! eat less weigh less vote GOP

must have been 100 or 150 i was here almost 50 ago

UHHH disappointing for a doctor to be so nasty when making a point. Sorry ADHD outrages you so much but I tried everything else before medication...and surprisingly...I couldn't just wish it away. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 17 and to say it changed my life for the better is an understatement. I went from a C student with mood swings and crash periods to a straight A student who was balanced, well-rested, anxiety-free and confident. I'm 23 now...graduated from college Magna Cum Laude and have a job working in my major at an advertisement agency.

I am active, (my boyfriend is a personal trainer so that helps) and have always been active. But exercise did not cure my ADHD. My parents did not solve my hyperactivity with drugs...I was hardly allowed to watch TV and I'M the one who researched ADHD and asked my doctor about it. It hasn't influenced my weight or mood at all. My diet and exercise influence my weight and my NEW doctor realized that when he renewed my Adderall prescription because at 133lbs I was hardly "wasting away" like he put it.

Kids are overweight not because of ADHD...and loads of homework...I have no idea what that has to do with it....homework is maybe an hour or two a night and it can be done after dinner. From 3-6 gives ample activity time. Kids are overweight because of PURE laziness, video games, and poor eating habits. Simple. Excuses are being thrown out left and right and no accountability is taken. They need to play outside, ride bikes, and fast food under the age of 16 is absolutely disgusting in my opinion. Unless it's a birthday party or long car ride with limited eating options, fast food should be avoided at ALL TIMES. Even after 16. Blagh.

But your tirade about ADHD seems a little out of left field...and thank god there's "doctors" who feel differently than you or I wouldn't continue to have success.