nos, I never got beaten up in school for smoking. I was bullied through grade school for being "fat" (and sadly, I was well within healthy BMI, I just wasn't skinny.)

Smoking is a choice, at least until you are addicted. Everyone has to eat. Campaigns like this should focus on educating parents who feed the kids, not put spotlights on fat kids. They have enough to deal with already.

Actually, I blame fat bias and bullying for my smoking, since I started in order to curb my cravings for food. I also blame fat bias for my bulimia and attempted suicide in high school. It wasn't until I was well into my 30's that I learned about nutrition and healthy behaviors. We need to lay off the kids, and focus on grown ups. They are the ones who put the food on the table.

I am sorry to hear about the struggles you encountered growing up but when you say smoking is a choice then you must also realize eating un-healthy is also a choice and doing exercise is a choice. The only difference is that someone smoking not only negatively effects themselves but also the people around them when they are smoking. Being obese effects you and you only. I don't think that the kids should be used to make an example of but what do you think will get people to change the way they think. If there was some picture of a women or man that weighed 400lbs on a billboard do you think anyone would care. Everyone has a slight weakness for children so to get the point across they spotlight children.

wooden - there is obviously no arguing that overeating and not exercising enough are a problem for lots of people - but let's not forget that genetics plays a large role in how people look as well. People come in all shapes and sizes - everyone just isn't going to be a size 0. I see attacks on "fat" people to be just as much of a discrimination issue as any other issue that people use to target others unfairly. And frankly, this is worse, because the discrimination is cloaked under a mantle of strident self-righteousness about health concerns and which is fully supported by the government at all levels.

Furthermore, I happen to live in a community where there are almost no obese kids. They play a lot of sports, they have access to the outdoors, they have access to healthy food, etc. Yet, we are still constantly bombarded locally with childhood obesity"epidemic" rhetoric in spite of the fact that the "epidemic" is almost nowhere to be seen here - and the reason is due to political correctness. It's not politically correct to acknowledge that the "epidemic" is not uniformly spread throughout the country, but tends to affect those in certain socio-economic strata more than in others. I'm really sick and tired of the PC crowd.

I'm all for people being healthier, eating better and getting physically fit. But the reality is I see this anti "fat people" movement as being a lot more about control and government-sanctioned discrimination than it is about having a healthier America.

And ads like the one pictured and discussed in this article are asinine. Anyone who can't see that ads like this will only lead to even more bullying and discrimination against fat kids is either a liar or really stupid.

realize eating un-healthy is also a choice and doing exercise is a choice.

You're correct -- it is. But, do we lay this to the overweight children who are already getting bullied? No ... we need to educate the PARENTS. They are the ones who are responsible for what the children eat and how much they exercise.

I personally think this campaign is horrible and it will have a tremendously negative impact on overweight children, most of whom already have serious issues (beyond their weight). ANYTHING that singles out these children is a bad thing (including BMI "report cards").

Yes this is a problem. Yes it needs to be fixed. But tormenting already tormented children is not the way.

This campaign is a good theory not a good practice. Those kids need help, not more derision, and their parents are old enough to remember how to play, and lets face it, we could all use it! I was a chunky one until high school, but I bet I could whip the most kids even now at 40 compared to these days. And that is nothing but sad. Pitiful sad. We were raised on sandwiches and apples and koolaid, and we played dang hard. I was chubby by seventies size, nowadays I would be considered fine.

Show me a billboard of mom or dad yanking the internet card, the playstation, Xbox, DSI, etc. We played all day back then because why? There was NOTHING to do inside. You came inside, you helped clean. The cord on the Atari was pulled after an hour and "out out out".

400 channels of crap and 1K dollars worth of games is the dang problem. That and parents inability to say one word with meaning: No. No you cant have fast food after practice because its easy, no you don't need that soda, no you cant stay inside. Technology plays as much a part in obesity as food does. These kids do not move near enough! Our parents screamed at us to get inside, not go outside. Parents are supposed to love their kids enough to where they step in to save a kid from themselves, thats what we are there for.

I had two kids I all but had to ground to get their drivers licenses?! Why? Thanks facebook, they don't have to leave the house to get to talk to their friends. Is fast food and poor eating habits the culprit? Partly. But I think technology deserves its fair share too.

I think its the parents' control of technology rather than the technology itself. There are plenty of active ways of using technology -- from geocaching to the Wii.

Plus, I've seen plenty of kids who play sports A LOT and would be considered overweight.

I tend to lean more toward what they are eating and drinking ... than blaming it on technology.

Bottom line however -- it's the PARENTS who set the standards for the kids and they need to do their job.

Obviously the best way to reverse the exploding obesity epidemic is to ignore the problem altogether. It'll just go away if you don't draw any attention to it, right?

• During the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. In 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%.
• Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2—19 years are obese. Since 1980, obesity prevalence among children and adolescents has almost tripled.

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html

LOL! Too true.

"Billboards depicting fat kids are extraordinarily harmful to the very kids they are supposedly trying to help,"

I don't ever remember hearing anyone say that about the billboards and commercials they've been running for the past 3 decades depicting the effects of drugs on a person. Are the "Just Say No!" and "your brain on drugs" and "Project Meth-free" harmful to the addicts they're supposedly trying to help?

I know looking at one of those "meth mouth" billboards is more disturbing to me than one of a fat kid.

I'm just trying to figure out how making someone buy two plane tickets....when they take up two seats.... bullying? If i buy a seat on a plane why should I be subject to someone else taking up 1/4 of the seat i paid for??

There are some people out there who honestly have health conditions that make it almost impossible to lose weight. VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE. I'm not talking about someone a little overwieght..... I'm talking about someone who is the same hieght no matter what side you put them on.

That judgement unfortunately is part of the human condition. Our ancestors became very visually perceptive of their envirnonment as they lost their fur, fangs, and bulk and became more vulnerable to it. They had to be able to see the threats around them and make snap-judgements to either fight-or-flee (usually flee when it came to the other beasts). That instinct became adapted to tribal life, making judgements as to who was fit to be a part of the tribe and who wasn't and therefore cast-out (so's not to be a liability when it came to meager food supplies).

As society became more developed and organized and "civilized", that visual-judgement instinct was manipulated to associate health and even intelligence to how a person looked. This evolved into primping and dressing up like colorful birds to impress people with status (just look back at the Royal Wedding!). Humans are suckers for eye-candy--and the media knows it.

Unfortunately, that genetic baggage can be manipulated by a pervasive media-culture that extols a lean and appealing look that severly narrows the range of acceptance of the naturally-varying body-types of the species. Look at art from 100-or-more years ago and you can see that "robust" and "cherubic" bodies were as much admired as the emaciated models are today. Basically, society has been convinced by a handful of middle-aged s-e-xually frustrated "Mad Men" that if you're not a twig, you're a blimp, because "normal" doesn't sell the stuff they're getting paid to sell.

Combine the incredible technology that can bombard people with images that equate only youth-and-beauty (at unattainable athenian standards) with wealth and power and status and s-e-xuality with the natural competitiveness of humans (especially the disempowered youth) to feel better about themselves by putting-down their peers , and their propensity to judge others on-sight, and you have the recipie for the inevitable cruel persecution of those who don't fit in.

Sadly, 'tis the nature of the beast.

First of all, I do not agree that it is bullying to force someone who takes up two seats to pay for two seats. It's unfair to me to have to share my seat with a stranger. I don't care why they're fat, hell, I don't even care if they ARE fat. I DO care that I paid for my own seat, but have to let someone else share it.

I'm also sick to death of obese people whining that they try SO HARD to lose weight and just absolutely can't, no matter what. I can tell you that of ALL of the obese people I know (and trust me, I know a LOT of them, including ones in my family), either they don't exercise at all (usually the case) or they don't do enough exercise to offset their eating habits. They do not control their eating. They eat whatever they want, whenever they want, and it's very rarely veggies and fruits.

I work in a restaurant, and I assure you, the obese people are the ones that order the fatty, greasy food in large quantities, while sucking down cola after cola. I know many will say that it's an unfair stereotype, but from where I stand, it's something I see every single day. I'm just so tired of the "It's Not My Fault" mentality.

I have ONE friend (yes, only one) of all my obese friends who has made a concerted effort to lose weight. With her hard work, exercising three to four days a week without fail, and tracking her eating, she's losing weight slowly but surely.

The rest of my obese friends have diabetes, moderate to severe knee issues, and / or trouble walking more than a mile (say when you're wandering around at a fair / festival) without having a near heart attack or having to sit down every 10 steps. It pains me to see them have such trouble that could be avoided with some effort on their part. It pains me to know that they are so unhealthy and uncomfortable.

It can be done, you just have to truly want to. This isn't about being a little chubby or overweight. I'm talking sheer obesity here. There's a big difference, and people know it but choose to overlook it in order to cry foul.

Do you think buying two plane tickets is bullying? How about sitting next to somebody so big you might as well be sitting on their lap for an eight hour flight. And we all know those people always smell GREAT! Lose weight and stop making excuses. Do I care if you ave a heart attack at 40...NO!

exactly right - what bad people we are that we are not ok with sharing a quarter or more of our seat! I mean, I should be more kind and compassionate being scrunched up against the wall of the plane. <eye roll>

Sorry - man, but that is just bullsh!t and you know it. If you take up two seats, you should pay for them. If you and the person next to you cannot fit in the seats, then you should have to pay for two. The airlines lose revenue giving away the "free" second seats, which we all end up paying more for.

And honestly, I am sick and tired of hearing how it is a "medical" condition and how they should be given a pass. Bull. If it is really a medical condition, then we have a serious epidemic on our hands that make AIDS and cancer look like the sniffles. While I am sure that their are people with thyroid issues or other health issues that make them gain weight - the majority of the overweight and obese people that I know eat too much, eat unhealty foods, and don't exercise. And while I would never make fun of them or hurt their feelings, I am not going to enable them either. They are free to choose their path in life, but THEY are responsible for their own actions. And, with freedom to choose your actions, there comes responsiblity.

We are nothing but a nation of spoiled, overfed brats who want to blame everyone or everything else for the things in our lives. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for your own actions, your own choices, and stop being in denial.

While I agree that kids shouldn't be bullied and that a size 0 is not a health example - the whole being obese is cool and ok movement is just as harmful. Just like giving out trophies to every kid and every team, so no one is a loser. Life isn't fair and it never will be. Sheltering your kids from it is doing more harm than good. Not everyone can grow up to be president and not everyone is a winner. Obesity is not beautiful and it is destroying their health - and ultimately we will all end up paying for it - either by higher insurance premiums, higher taxes, longer hospital waits, or higher airline ticket prices to offset the remodeling of the planes with larger seats or giving away free seats.

i would never put up with an obese person flowing over into my seat on a plane, i paid for my seat and my comfort, it is not my job to ensure the fat guy or girl crowding me out has a good self esteem. what i have seen is kids that are lazy and their parents will not make them do anything physical. they are too intent on being their kids' friends. it's our job to raise our children healthy, not coddle them when they become lazy little sh*ts and insist it is "glandular". while i realize that there are times that someone cannot control their weight(ie, diabetics have a rough time, or thyroid conditions) the majority are fat because they eat way too much fast food, either sneaking it , or their parents are too damn lazy or "busy" to prepare proper meals, and don't give me that" they don't have time when they work full time", i raise my nephew and i make sure he gets sent to school with a hot meal, and when he comes home he gets healthy, home cooked meals rather that restaraunt or fast food. i allow 1 or 2 nights to cheat with the junk, but even that is controlled. how can we expect these kids to learn self control , rather than self pity or self indulgence, if we as parents don't teach them? keep the ads up, kids need to see how people in general view obesity and they need to know the troubles they are in for in the future. hurting their feelings or bullying? bull.

Wow; as much as I dislike the stigmatization of obesity and see the horrible harm it does to those targeted by bigots and self-righteous cowards, I do NOT see the problem with having to purchase two airline seats if I were to need them. Why not allow everyone equal space? Why stuff yourself uncomfortably in a place not large enough for you and then demand that you take the space of the person next to you on a plane? This thought process makes no sense to me, and it certainly isn't bullying.

If I brought a huge backpack on board a plane and used an extra seat I didn't pay for to hold it, people would complain and want me to pay for the seat I was using. Use two seats, pay for two seats. It's not bullying. It's paying for what you're using.

bullsh*t! if you can't fit it one seat, ya gotta buy two, period!

Besides smoking having it's own health risks- no 12 year old killed themselves because of smoking.

I had always been trim & fit. Worked out, was active...but just kept slowly gaining weight...no matter what I did. Years later I find out I've had undiagnosed medical issues. I go for regular physicals & had even been tested for several of the issues I now suffer from. They were just missed for whatever reason. Different docotrs read results in different ways. What may be considered a "normal" range for one person is not necessarily a "normal" range for someone else. I was never mean to heavy people growing up & I thank God for that since I am now heavy. I do hear snide comments & just ignore them. I am a strong personal mentally - but I get pi$$ed thinking about how less strong people feel.

Making fun of over weight people is sometimes exactly the same thing as making fun of someone because of the color of their skin or hair or eyes. You DON'T know why the person is overweight so you just guess that they're lazy or eat wrong. You don't really have a clue so you really should just shut up.

I am willing to bet that a lot of the people who make fun of over weight people are the same people who rally for animal rights or gay & lesbian rights or racial equality or any host of other causes. Maybe people should just learn to accept EVERYONE the way they are & not pass judgement.

The problem with this argument (and it's not the first time I've heard it) is that people aren't born smokers. But some people are born to be fat.

Your weight "set point" is determined by many factors, not the least of which is genetic. To use myself as an example, my whole family tends to gain weight fast and must go to extremes to lose it, no matter what we eat. Some of us have given up stressing about that. And you know what? I have a BMI high enough to be considered "obese" but you'd never know it if you looked at any other measure of health. My blood sugar's normal, my cholesterol is "excellent", blood pressure is good, I have the appropriate balance of vitamins and minerals and hormones of all kinds.

That's why it's ludicrous that anyone would accuse me of being unhealthy. Obviously, if I don't conform to someone else's beauty standards, all that other stuff about actual health isn't important. If I'm fat, it must be because I love doughnuts too much, not because I drew the nonconformist genetics.

I have some choice nasty words for people like you who compare being fat to being a choice. My choice is to care about my health, not my BMI, and lo and behold it actually seems to WORK.

In short, shut the hell up.

Okay, CJ, you claim that people aren't born smokers. If what you propose about weight is true, that genetics plays a large part of weight, then why can't genetics play a large part in the decision to smoke? Both of my parents smoke; most of my aunts and uncles smoke; my grandmother smokes. I'm a smoker, just like a lot of people in my family, so why couldn't I be a born smoker?

Stigma is part of the smoking decline but most of it lies squarely on the cost. They've deliberately raised taxes to the extremes on tobacco. It now costs nearly $5.00 a pack for generic cigarettes now. Hike taxes that high on junk food and you'll see a lot less morbidly obese people.

The BMI is bad science and bad medicine. It's simply inaccurate.

Also--I muscled up, trust me. I was the strongest woman in my gym by a long shot--and stayed fat on 5 hour workouts including 11 machines, 5 free-weight stations, 20 minute treadmill and 1/2 hour swimming 4x a week. Short, round and I could pull a plow. I had 190 lb lean but I was still very fat. Not everybody can fit the profile--my metabolism was created when my birth mother stopped eating so her pregnancy wouldn't show (research on women who were gestated in Holland during WW2 show that they were long skinny babies who grew up fat with incredibly thrifty metabolisms--just like mine). Scientists agree that weight is a very complex medical issue; bigots think it's the simplest thing in the world to solve. Sigh...

There's a big difference between the voluptuous Renaissance ladies in paintings and the morbidly obese people scooter-ing around Walmart because they're too large to walk across the store.

You make it sound simple--which means you have not done your research. Go out and study and then you can speak. For all the people for whom that holds true there are at least as many who strive for a lifetime but still continue to clutter up your physically perfect universe with their unsightly selves...

It is that simple, nanamouse. First law of thermodynamics is pretty specific on that part. Unless you are suggesting that your body is generating energy from nothing, in which case I advise you to file a patent asap, because you're fat has just single handedly solved the world's energy crisis.

Remydon, do you have a weight problem? Have you had to lose weight? How about a lot of weight? If you did, how long did you keep it off (they call it success if you kept it off for 5 years which means, in 5 years, it's all back). Easy to say if you've never tried to solve it. I've been trying for 45 years with only limited success. My answer was to get as strong and healthy as I can. Unless you have dealt with it, you have no idea. And the bigotry--and snarky comments, in no way contribute to helping solve the problem.

I know my thermodynamics in and out, Remydon, and I can assure you, you have no idea what you're talking about.

The body is not the simple machine that you in your simple mind seem to want it to be. And while you may have the equation right, there is so much complexity and diversity to the chemistry that makes up a human body that you can't just add up the calories and think it will work. People store, excess (i.e. don't absorb at all) and burn different amount of calories depending on their own personal chemistry. It's so complex, actually, that even doctors who study it don't understand all the influencing factors. One can eat a starvation-level diet and exercise 3 hours a day and still be fat. One can eat 6,000 calories a day without exercising at all and still be amazingly thin. And there's everything in between.

Truth is, Cynical, that you don't understand obesity. If it was as simple as cal in/cal out, then diet and activity would result in durable weight loss. Only it almost never does. Nobody understands obesity, really. I just did a search of the scientific literature; my search terms were "obesity" and "immunity" (immunology is my field), and came up with 2,900 results. 101 of them were from 2011 alone! There is so much we don't know. One thing that is clear, though, is that obesity is NOT a simple disease with straightforward answers.

I will agree that different people with different builds and metabolisms will LOOK different. Some of us will be bigger and stockier than others, no matter how much they "eat right and exercise." It would be good to get away from the "one size fits all" ideaology of the current fitness/dieting industry. However, people who are obese are putting their health at risk, and consequently their children's health as well. I watched this very sad documentary about a woman that weighed 900 lbs. People that heavy can't walk, they become bedridden and their families have to take care of them. What was really sad is, she had the gastric bypass surgery, and looked like she was going to recover for about a week, then died of a heart attack. It was too little, too late - and she had two young daughters. Her oldest was about 10 and already 30 lbs overweight. She decided to lose the weight and make sure her younger sister wouldn't end up like their mother. Now, there's obviously a big difference between 190 lbs and 900 lbs, so I think we just need to approach this with a little more acceptance that we won't all look like Matthew McConahey or Demi Moore, but if we can run, lift weights, keep our BP under control, etc. then maybe being a little bit bigger than normal is not such a big deal. I think, especially as we get older, that those other "ifs" get more important.

I understand thermo just fine, thanks. Just checked my old mechanical engineering thermo textbook from school AND compared the first chapter to the section on wikipedia. Doesn't look like that pesky first law has changed. I understand the body is probably the most complex system we've ever studied, but you CAN'T avoid the fact that if you require X calories to stay alive, and you are consuming more than that, then you WILL gain weight, and you WILL lose weight if you consume less. Some people's bodies are more efficient than other's. My wife is one of them. She packs on pounds in a heartbeat if she lapses even for a second. That's why she runs marathons as a hobby and as a weight control mechanism. It literally takes her that much effort to lose weight. Don't tell me it can't be done. It is hard, yes, but it is doable. There are a VERY, VERY few whose bodies malfunction and will store fat even while they are literally starving to death, but that is such a miniscule minority that it is not even worth taking into consideration in this sort of discussion.

And FYI I do have a weight problem. Since I finished school I've gained a good 20 pounds, and I know exactly what caused it; I eat to much crap and I don't work out enough. Speaking of which, this stigma HAS motivated me. I don't want to be like the whiners on here. I'm going to go run with my wife.

Peace.

Cynical is 100% correct, its nothing more than his formula stated; if you eat more calories than your body burns, you WILL gain weight. I know peoples metabolisms vary, but if you track calories in and do some research on how many calories your body type burns and eat less than that, you WILL lose weight.

Are you going to be able to eat processed garbage(read 'foods'), fast food, piles of deep fried everything, giant servings of pasta with cheese, etc..

Hell no you're not, you can indulge but no one should be eating like this everyday, especially not multiple times a day...

Lean meats, vegetables, fruits, whole grains and eat correct portions of them. Throw in some light exercise and BAM, you're on a diet.

The easiest way to lose weight is to stop eating as much. Yeah, there are people who have medical issues that don't make it that simple (I have a relative who has thyroid problems, for instance) but most people who are overweight simply eat too much for the amount of physical work they do. I'm short and have been everything from 97 pounds to 160. I've had to do the 6AM workouts with Body Electric and force myself to keep walking when I see the 75% Off Easter Candy! sale basket. I don't want to have to exercise more than I do already so I just don't let myself eat the bag of Circus Peanuts even though I really, really want to. I don't even bring them home so they won't be a temptation.

Yes, for many people it CAN be that easy. Not for everyone but for a lot of people, self control really is the issue.

Torturing fat people does not make them lose weight, but it makes their torturers look far uglier.

Who advocated torture? The simple fact that there are far too many that think displaying a bellie roll out of the way too small top looks good, when it is actually repulsive. Make a trip to any all you can eat buffet and see how many customers are morbidly obese, but of course it is not their fault. You can bet the handicapped hanger is in place because mobility is seriously compromised especially after that fifth helping. No need for them to worry disability has kicked in, who can work when you can hardly move.

Nasty, judgmental comments do not help. Are you imagining they do? They just cause more humiliation and pain and those are not motivators for too many people. I do four 45 minute martial arts workouts a week and only eat in moderation. I'm the strongest, fittest fat woman I know. If diets worked, they would have--I've been trying hard for 45 years. My weight and aerobics workouts took 5 hours 4 x a week--I replaced some fat with muscle, but not all of it. The more I starve, the more I gain on no food. Eating in moderation just stabilizes me. You have an answer for that besides judging me? Do you? Well?

I wouldn't worry too much about a "little belly roll;" maybe they just need to go up a size. I agree that "all you can eat" anything is bad, studies show that people WILL eat more when more food is available. And that really makes sense, after all just a little over 100 years ago we couldn't be sure we'd eat every day! Our bodies naturally crave high-calorie foods, it's a survival instinct. It's hard to keep that in check.

Nanamouse, have you checked to see if you're diabetic? My hubby has Type II, and started on Glucophag, and he's been dropping weight ever since. There's something to be said for diets that stabilize the blood sugar levels. Just a friendly suggestion.

@T Bourlon--Oh, I am, but it was medication-induced. My blood sugar and A1Cs have been pretty darned good considering I am a 22 year diabetic. I realize there are fat people who just eat evil food, but we cannot be lumped together--we are as individual as anyone else. I also realize that I am a little unusual as a super-strong, active woman of age and size (I did 35 pushups and 40 crunches not too long ago--as warmup). (But then, I was beating my friend's fathers at armwrestling when I was 14, so go figure). I am adopted, so I don't know my genetics, but this amount of strength is not something one sees on a daily basis in someone like me :)

So, there are two options here, fat, nice, and smart or dumb, skinny, biotch. Who stereotypes now. Fat people reqiure more of everything, more fabric for clothing, more food, more fuel to move them, they produce more waste, and they take up more space. They negatively impact health care at a phenomenal rate, utilize disability for self imposed locomotion limitations, come on lets stop pretending that morbid obesity is a glandular issue.

Eating healthy ISN'T more expensive if you look at the cost associated with medical conditions stemming from obesity. And exercise isn't any less difficult for a healthy person to fit into their busy schedule, they just make it a priority.

I'm overweight and have been all my life. I struggle daily to eat healthier than I grew up, but as you said, it's difficult. But, don't make excuses. All overweight and obese people know what they have to do to become healthy. Cut out the junk food, stop eating fast food, dump the soda, and find some thing that they enjoy that gets their body moving. It's not easy and I sure haven't mastered it, but when overweight and obese people make excuses for why they are the way they are, they make themselves look dumb and uneducated.

Wow Explorerdog1, your parents must have raised you in a closet with no visitors. I don't know where you get your insight/opinions, but they are definitely skewed. From your post, we can all deduce that you are thin, dumb and a biotch!

Chris-3402843: Overweight people know what they should do and no one said any differently. Did you ever consider that they maybe they can"t for some reason? Maybe the 55 year old fat man has arthritus so bad that it's a good day when he can walk and doesn't have to use his handicap plackard. Maybe the single mother with four kids doesn't have the time to exercise or can't afford anything but Mac&Chees, beans, bread and rice. You look down from your "I know everything" platform and make judgements. I hope you left home while you still knew everything.

I agree with most people that being overweight/obese can lead to a hard life for some and can lead to bullying and discrimination but I think overweight people can be very successful in their careers and have a great personality. I have seen this with several of my friends. I do agree that some people may have issues (health wise and financially) that prevent them from losing the necessary weight but for the majority of people all that it would take is determination and motivation and a lifestyle change.

I grew up as a chubby kid and so did my brothers. All three of us went through bullying and discrimination and I know how that feels. There are also numerous health issues in my family from diabetes, high blood pressure, to heart attacks etc. all having to due with being overweight or obese. Both my parents are obese/overweight and so are my grandparents and everyone of them have health problems. However, I do not have any of these problems and its due to my change in lifestyle.

While I am still considered overweight and teetering on the obese category in terms of BMI, I am a very active and very healthy person. I run 5 to 6 days a week and I am currently training for a half marathon and I have just started cycling. I am doing anywhere between 15-20 miles a day 3 days a week. Was it easy starting out, NO!!! Its very hard for overweight/obese people to be active. Not only d0 they lack endurance and strength and typically trouble breathing but I think a lot of it has to do with determination and motivation. I am motivated so much not to be like my family and have these health issues but i do it because i enjoy running and cycling and have a wife that supports me 110%. Having a solid foundation and support is important.

As far as the diet fads are concerned, I don't stick to a diet. I eat healthy and make healthy decisions. I eat alot of salads and I switched from drinking soft drinks to drinking water. I eat whole grains and lots of fruits and vegetables and have cut out nearly 90% of my snacking and sweets. I still have the occassional beer but nowhere near like I was before. Instead of ice cream, I have switched to frozen yogurt. It taste just as good but not nearly as bad for you. When I make pizza I use whole wheat crust and add vegetables such as onions and bell peppers to it along with some meat and low fat cheese. Still taste just as good as Pizza Hut, etc. When I snack I make sure to include fruit instead of chips, etc. I think it is all about making healthy decisions instead of bad ones.

I know it may be more expensive to shop healthy but nowhere near as expensive as having to pay out of pocket for health related issues or surgeries etc. I do think education about healthy life style changes should be emphasized in school but not necessarily pushed on kids. If parents were more educated and made healthier decisions I think everyone would be better off in some form.

Ordering fast food is perfectly ok, as long as a person (and their child/children) happens to be thin then, correct?

And, if you are overweight, pudgy, obese, or any other negative slur you wish to use orders *anything* from a fast food restaurant they are "criminal", then, by your standards??

You see this every day, I'm guessing as it is implied.... And, children will *always* eat like their parents do (regardless of the health consequences they witness as they grow)?

I call you on all of that, and it isn't universally true. In some cases, absolutely, it is accurate- and that is sad. HOWEVER, not is it always true. For instance, my husband is truly normal weight/height- a BMI of roughly 20-22, and above average height. My kids naturally eat like he does and are on the very low edge of normal to nearly under-weight. My 5'2 son weighs in at barely 90 lbs....and he's kind of "soft" due to little exercise (something we're working on). My daughter is another case altogether; she's been a gymnast since she was 2 years old; and at a few weeks before she turns 11 is quite a bit shorter and lighter than her classmates and appears younger than she is (especially in comparison to her "new normal"- read- heavier- classmates). Both kids naturally shy away from junk foods; eat very little in the way of snacks and the only thing we really struggle with are veggies and my son's preference for soft drinks.

Not ignorance, not disregard; my kids are just eating as they feel they need to with little to no guidance from their parents. They don't follow me at all, and I admit to being a rather poor example in the food department. I have to be; my body won't lose weight unless fed an extreme low-calorie diet- something I am not willing to do in front of them for fears of really setting an even more extremely bad example. Normal calorie diets for a person my height (somewhere around 1,200 calories) would set me into a tailspin even worse than I am on now! I simply CANNOT eat as much as anyone else around me, and I currently don't. Yet, I don't lose weight. Someone will almost certainly come on with the canned response of "calories in - calories burned = weight gain/loss". It really doesn't work that easily!!!

"Fat parents will have fat kids". Really? Always? See my post at 11.1. Your statement is NOT true!!!!!!

Good for you! YOU decided to make a change. I'm not ripping on overweight people, my problem is that there are people out there who don't care about themselves. My sister says "I don't care if I'm fat, I'm married and I have 2 kids". I'm not perfect AT ALL, but I try to help, and motivate her. Now her daughter is following the same path.

I agree on the encouragement 100%

Thank you! I literally just woke up on day and said "I don't want to be fat anymore and I want to feel and look healthy". It wasn't easy but it really wasn't that hard, it just took a long time. Counting calories and adding gradual exercise is all it took and I think that would work for most people. I never deprived myself, but I tried to make substitutions and cut portions.

I really don't think people actually DON'T care if they're fat, even if they say they don't. I think people should be encouraged to get HEALTHY. We don't all have to look like models, but we should all want to feel our best, especially if you have children. Like I said before, obese people know they don't feel good. They know they get winded walking across a parking lot or walking up 1 flight of stairs. They know they have aches and pains that they shouldn't be having. But unfortunately, some people just stubbornly resist change no matter what. I think most people would give a shot and stick with it with the right encouragement and motivation.

LS- I get your point, but it does have a pretty harsh ring to it in the 2nd paragraph- not sure wishing an aneurism on the bullies will really help the situation.

Though, the first paragraph is one I have to say "thank you!"- very true.

Somehow we have to make moving a priority in our society. Sadly, the reality is that our neighborhoods are no longer safe (I think it was rather naiive to ever think they were safe; I was brutally attacked in my hometown of 700 people in 1984!). We have to somehow figure out an effective way of choosing better meals, making them taste good, and also get entire families somewhere to move together and have fun. It isn't going to be easy, but we have to find a way, or we're going to create a generation or two or more that have far more health issues and heavier bodies than we've got even now.

Technology has made life a lot easier for us: It works, feeds and entertains us with very little effort on our part. It's really easy to imagine a society of frail-bodied people floating around in personal pods operating everything from the toaster to the car with mind-powered technology (which they're already developing and testing on quadriplegics). Without deliberate effort to stay fit, the majority could end up as a race of Baron Harkonnens.

It's true that you really don't know how much you're eating until you really examine, measure, and count everything you eat over a few days. When I first tried losing weight, I decided to eat what I normally do and count the calories. I was shocked at the end of 3 days. I'm talking about measuring your cereal in the morning to weighing your meat portion at night and including every Hershey's kiss you eat in the day down to the calorie. I still count calories sometimes if I get off track and it still amazes me that weighing 80 pounds lighter now, I can still eat 2500 calories in a day and not even realize it if I don't watch it.

Agreed. I grew up with an overweight parent who was in a weight-loss club. Every week they'd meet and weigh in. Then they'd celebrate by going to the local steak house and order the all-you-can-eat salad bar (which was actually a food bar coz it had onion rings, chicken fingers, shrimp, etc.).

I remember one woman going up to the dessert bar and she said to the lady who was going with her: "Wheeew. I'm SO full!". She then proceeded to heap two salad bowls full of desserts which she ate herself. Even as a kid this logic boggled me. If she was trying to lose weight AND she was "SO full!"... why was she having dessert at all, much less two big bowls of it? But I think in her mind since it was 'part of the salad bar' then she wasn't really eating anything bad. Still... full is full. Stopping then would have been a better choice than eating the dessert just because it was there.

For the vast majority of obese people, eating is an emotional reaction. They eat to feel good. I have 3 friends who have had either bariatric bypass or lapbands, and while each of them lost a significant amount of weight, each of them has gained a significant amount of weight back. When you eat with them, you know why: mashed potatoes and gravy several times a day, chocolate, ice cream, milkshakes...the surgery made it so that they can't overeat in one sitting, but it didn't address the emotional issues of their eating disorders and didn't take away the crutch.

I was overweight from age 10 until 18. I lost the weight in college and kept it off for a long time, but a desk job and a bad marriage took its toll and I slowly gained weight, far more than I ever had carried at 18. I was able to take it off after my second son was born and keep it off only by addressing the reasons why I overeat, why I turn to food in times of trouble, finding alternates to eating to feel better, and diligent adherence to writing down every single thing I put in my mouth every single day of my life. Lots of therapy and soul-searching, but it worked for me and I certainly don't deprive myself of food!

And let's face it: you HAVE to eat, so, how would it be if a recovering alcoholic had to have a drink several time a day?

Hello Kitty- be cautious when mentioning PCOS to doctors; many will accuse you of being obese and causing your own condition. I too have had to face the ravages of PCOS; I also have a low thyroid level. I was of normal weight until I was 19, when I started having irregular cycles. After 3-4 years of irregular cycles, weight started pouring on; I was in college and had a tendency to eat less than I had in high school (as you will when you suddenly have to buy your own food and parents don't supply a dinner every night!). I also walked, a lot, every day to and from classes- at least 4-5 miles per day up & down hills.

But, I have had a few doctors tell me with great malice how *I* caused my health problems (somehow before I gained weight) by my weight!!!

If you think that's bad, try being a diabetic. I was diagnosed last year...wasn't overweight, wasn't inactive, and have always been extremely cautious of what I eat or drink... no matter, according to the practice, clearly I had brought it on myself.

wow, that is so awesome that you changed your life on your own! I wish more people would accept some real responsibility for themselves. It isn't the government's responsibility to make you exercise or adopt healthy habits, it's yours, and it's amazing that you recognized that! Our society is way too soft on people who don't want to accept any personal responsibility.

Exercise is for people without real jobs.

Nonsense. I exercise at 5 a.m. so I can do it before I have to go to work. Half of the people in my masters swim group show up with suits and ties because they are heading to work right after practice. The median age in my triathlon club is 55 and we are all in terrific shape. Getting older doesn't have to equal gaining weight.

I'm 40. I'm 6 feet tall and weight 168 lbs. I work 50-60 hour weeks. I also workout for an hour EVERY SINGLE DAY starting at 0430. I did eat an entire package of oreo's yesterday, so I ran a few extra miles last night. If I miss a few workouts, my weight starts to go up. I increase my workouts, my weight goes down. Your arguments regarding age, youth, and being naturally thin are all wrong. ANYONE can lose weight if they CHOOSE to.