is someone in your family or circle of friends obese?

Your always going to learn some thing on mylot. Especially medical things you will get to know a lot of things.

Thanks for sharing all these real-life examples. So many insights people can learn from there.

I do think it is the parents first and main obligation to kids to teach them to eat right. That being said...it isn't fast foods fault anyone is obese. No one forces anyone, young or old to eat there. IT is a CHOICE of the person paying the bill. If they think the food is so bad, if they are concerned and trying to not eat fatty foods and watch weight, theirs or the kids..then they should choose to not eat there. But this constant blaming of fast foods on obesity...it is such a crock. No, it isn't a crock, it is a blatant form of irresponsibility. A way to have what you want, and not take responsibility. ON the other hand...there are healthy CHOICES at fast foods these days....the eater just has to choose them. The parents are to blame if their child is obese and they are blaming it on the fast food. Those kids don't go there by themselves. THey aren't paying the bill. It is totally the parents CHOICE to let themselves and their kids get obese if they frequent fast foods and gorge out while there. A Happy Meal a week isn't going to put any weight on anyone. But one every day or 2 Big Macs and large fries and soda couple times a week...the weight will come when you call! I have even seen shcool lunch meals that are the grosest things ever...and the only reason they can say they are "low cal" is simply cause there is LOW amount of food. The portions are so small.. I don't know how older kids or more active kids are not passing out from lack of substance after they eat one of those school lunches. And don't blame fast foods...have you noticed the ingredients and calorie/fat content at dinner entree's at resturants lately? Yahoo News has thsi every now and then where they rate meals at dinning room resturants. The calories in those entrees...even the ones with chicken.. are astronomical! I read where some of them are even higher than a big Mac! But since it is chicken and at a nice resturant..no one thinks about the calories/fat there! I wont' say that being obese is a choice in every case...but I'd say that in a great deal of most of them...the kids are not taught how to eat as the parents dont' know and won't learn. Easier to get a Happy Meal than cook a meal at home. Laziness is a huge factor on both sides..the one making the meal and the one eating it!

The fastfood industry, parents who encourage their kids to stuff themselves, lack of discipline and tendency to engage in emotional eating on the part of the kids themselves... all these contribute to kids' obesity.

Yes, obesity can trigger a host of serious illnesses, so people with excess pounds need to do something about it, beginning with getting off the couch and exercising daily and choosing healthier foods.

Portion control is one of the techniques to attaining a healthier weight. You're right about that. Not crash dieting nor getting into starvation mode, which just makes the dieter feel deprived and make up for it by binging later on. I guess some obese people who do nothing find out the hard way, years later, how it can make them prone to serious illnesses. Brisk walking or other forms of exercise for at least 30 minutes each day is one of the ways to lose excess pounds.

In the absence of parents, a friend may be a good workout buddy. Self-discipline is a very important factor for individuals who intend to lose the extra pounds.

Some obese people don't realize that they may be like a walking time bomb. Some of their main body organs may malfunction as they advance in years without doing anything to attain a healthier weight.

Yes, some people have food sensitivities. It's really not a matter of making mothers feel guilty, because most of them are actually clueless that they're instrumental to their kids' obesity. Cutting out trans fats is a good decision on the part of those trying to shed flab and taking the route to healthier eating.

Eating healthier and regular physical exercise are always advised by nutrition experts. People with weight problems should also take a look and understand their body's biological process. Genetics, likewise, plays a role on why some people find it so difficult to lose excess pounds and keep them off.

Indeed, eating healthy can be a learned behavior. There are different causes and strategies for extra flab. Unfortunately, few people realize that fat in areas like the abdomen can be quite harmful. Some folks with viscera fat probably don't know the health dangers they're up against.