i think the cause of childhood obesity in the USA and soon coming to other countries everywhere, is mcdonald’s and other multibillion dollar corporations whose target audience of massive marketing campaigns is children, especially poor children, in a bad economy, i believe if the fed gov’t outlawed the mystery chemical they use, it would help. yes, mcdonalds, in their owns words states, “we want to get the customers young and then we have a customer for life.” how do they know they will then have a customer for life? because they know what chemicals are being added to their poison, rotten food. if i eat a big mac now, i will immediately get the urge to vomit. that is because my body still remembers what real food that grows in the ground tastes like and i am sensitive and can taste just a little, and smell just a little, something rotten when i eat their food. children who have eaten nothing their whole lives but processed junk with chemicals are not able to detect this rotteness. mcdonalds stated that “yes, they do add flavor enhancing chemicals that make a person eat past full, and then in turn make them hungry again soon afterwards for the same thing they just ate. so eat a big mac, eat way past full, and you’ll be hungry for another big mac an hour later. this chemical is as addictive as heroin. i know, my child is addicted to it. they should be investigated before they poison and ruin an entire generation of american children, and soon after will come europeans …

Childhood obesity is on the rise in India. We go to one northern Indian school that has been hard hit by the growing problem. Students here blame their weight on a lack of sports and exercise. They say most of their time is taken up by studying for exams. [Faizal Ahmed, Student, St. Josephs School]: “There is a lot of emphasis put on our studies. The school does not pay attention to sports. There is Chinese food and junk food available in the school. And children obviously like it more.” It also doesnt help that the food served in their school cafeteria is not healthy. [Deepanshu, Student, St. Joseph's School]: “I play very little sports because there is a lot of academic pressure. And I also eat junk food.” Doctors believe that obesity can lead to many diseases, especially diabetes.

Require schools to have nutrition education in order to graduate (childhood obesity is a huge issue right now)

Ban junk food from schools (such as pizza, hamburgers, taco bell, etc) and have more salad bars with a variety of food to teach children how to make healthy choices.

Have more restaurants who offer smaller portion sizes (like TGI Friday’s "right portion, right price")

Have more restaurants consult a Dietitian to help create a menu with healthy options.

Only 5% of Medical schools require their students to take a nutrition class and even then, its usually just a basic class. This is a problem because most people consult their doctors for nutrition advice when they aren’t very qualified. I think all medical schools should require nutrition classes.

I need more ideas please. Thanks!

Thanks!!!!!

Of course, I am not saying that children should abstain from all ‘bad’ foods. I’m just wondering if there is too much emphasis on the ‘bad’, nutrient deprived foods. Is junk food forming a major part of their diet?

Thanks for your input, feel free to share your thoughts on this.
Brit- interesting point about the school meals. My sister goes to school and she says that the food options are unhealthy.

So, I am at the mercy of eating whatever food is nearby, and while I practically starve if the vending machine is the only choice, it really sucks that I need to do that. why not make healthy food more available.

Unless no on really wants to solve the problem.
Oh, about bringing your own, not always an option. Yeah, when I have time, I do it. when 5 minutes make the difference between me being on time or not, then it isn’t