Attention! Back Away From The Table Please!

A few months ago, I pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and found myself next to a van that had just emerged from the McDonald's drive-thru that was also in the mall. I saw a beefy young man nearly devouring a Big Mac in one bite. I actually gasped. I am positive that he'd supersized that order. But it did make me think about the sheer gluttony that I witness constantly. We all have our vices but America just seems to have bred a few generations of people who have no concept of portion control or when to back away from the table. So, it is no surprise that the up and coming generation will be dying from obesity related problems at ages younger than their parents. Inhaling Big Macs, big gulps and double orders of fries won't help.

"Americans ought to be worried. The prospect of shorter life spans for today's children deserves serious attention.

A study in the New England Journal of Medicine last week suggested that increasing obesity could cause today's kids to become the first generation in more than 200 years to have shorter life expectancies than their parents. The scientists said the decline in life spans could be as much as five years.

That possibility is by no means certain. Other factors, such as advances in medical treatments, could more than offset the negative effects from obesity.

Even if there are ways to ease the health burdens of an ever-fatter population, however, American kids, parents and policy-makers should work on changing consumption patterns and increasing exercise. The rising obesity rate threatens to trigger more diabetes, heart troubles and other health problems.

Americans already spend an extraordinary amount of money on health care. Maybe science and even more spending can erase the threat of shortened life spans. But why would anyone wish the quality-of-life impairments associated with unnecessary health problems on today's kids? Prevention is always best."