Actually, the studies show that obesity rates in America have stabilized and haven't risen in 7 years.  Not that the media is willing to acknowledge this -- too much money in the diet industry generally, and too much money in fear mongering, particularly!  Keep us terrified, so we keep spending! And don't bother to organize for, you know, like, actual education in our schools and street safety. Oh, no - 100 calorie packs and boot camp training in school is much better!

Sorry, I just hate this obesi-panic.  It's not actually true, if you read the studies - which, by the way, show as much positive correlation with "overweight" as negative. I say, let your body be what weight it's supposed to be. Eat mostly healthy foods, work on other ways to handle stress - but #*(&$# the BMI and all the hype.

Well, whatever the studies say, there are a lot of obese kids and parents out there.  And it's too many.  

My husband and I both work in emergency medicine, and the majority of the heart attacks, strokes, diabetes complications, etc.  are happening to people who eat crappy and don't exercise and have the bellies to show for it.

I in no way think that people should be skinny rails who are fitness obsessed and never have down time or an occasional treat.  But we do need to look at taking responsibility for our own health and well-being, and a big part of that is healthy diet, exercise, and maintaining a healthy body weight.

At the very least, think of the logistics.  When real health problems occur - say a stroke or a cardiac event, time is brain and time is (cardiac) muscle.  If you're 170 pounds, you're getting out of your house and to the hospital quick.  If you're 370 pounds, it's going to take a lot longer for the medics and fire fighters to even get you out of the house.

No matter the weight, it's our jobs as parents to keep our children healthy, and that means feeding them healthy foods and letting them be active.

I feel like the medical issues of obesity overshadow the simple quality of life issues. If your kid can't run a mile, go on a long hike or bike ride then it doesn't matter if they don't have any health problems.

It makes me sad when I hear about how much time other parents let their kids spend in front of a TV or computer and then wonder why they are fat.

A great book to help fight obesity is a book called "Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family" by Pamela Gould and Eleanor P. Taylor. You can get it from Love and Logic at www.loveandlogic.com.

Great List! Getting you're kids involved with team sports is a very important factor in the battle against Childhood Obesity.

LOL @ that <a href="http://www.randomfatkids.com">RandomFatKids.com</a> site...I seriously cannot stop laughing, evil as that may be...haaaaa