Hart: What to do about obesity

With Memorial Day this past Monday, it's now "officially" summer. That means we are all bearing a little more skin, and many of us a lot more fat.
Adult obesity is everywhere. Today Americans are getting fatter at faster rates than ever before. Currently some two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. This leaves us vulnerable to a host of diseases and early death. According to the Association of American Obesity, some 300,000 Americans die prematurely every year because of illness related to being overweight.
It is, unfortunately, extremely difficult for adults to lose significant amounts of weight and to keep it off for life. It's far better to get to the kids before they get fat, or at least, before they become overweight adults.
But are we even trying? Every year about this time, the winter coats are off, the shorts and bathing suits are on, and I am again stunned and saddened at the number of overweight kids I observe. What really amazes me is when I see overweight, sometimes very overweight kids at the pool or at the local snack shop, eating huge plates of fries, enormous sodas, or a second hot dog -- often right in front of mom or dad.
I wonder if today too many of us parents just don't want to say no to our kids about anything. If we want them to feel good about themselves no matter what -- even if it's literally killing them.
Our culture's attitude toward indulging our appetites, whatever they are, is surely the crux of the problem. But it's not just about the messages kids are getting at home.
It's reflected in the huge portion sizes being doled out to kids outside the home too. Portion sizes in everything from chips, to soda, to bagels to fries to burgers have increased significantly in recent decades. And it's hardly a surprise that when we are confronted with larger portion sizes, we simply eat more.
The Centers for Disease Control in 2006 reported on a study of adults given four different size servings of macaroni and cheese over four days. When presented with more food these folks ate more, up to 30 percent more than their smallest portion.
Perhaps that's to be expected. But, what I found shocking is that the study participants reported "similar ratings of hunger and fullness" after each meal, no matter how much they had consumed, and fewer than half of the folks in the study even noticed that the larger portion sizes differed from the smaller. Ouch.
Most of our kids are going to eat fast food and restaurant food. That's a given. But I have no problem at least alerting my kids to the ridiculously oversized portions they'll find there.
I think they should be suspicious of them. So, when we do eat at restaurants, I'll often ask for all the side orders of fries to be replaced by fruit, and then I'll order one serving of fries for all of us to share. If I allow soda at all, and I try to get away with the kids drinking water, I'll ask them to be split, and more and more one big desert -- and they are huge -- will feed all five of us.
And if I "cave" and let them have half a soda, there is no desert. (Of course my kids complain, but they complain about all kinds of things so this is just added to the list.)
Meanwhile, soda does not cross my doorstep at home. Period. Particularly in summer, my refrigerator will be loaded with lots of fresh fruit. And I stand by the rule that nobody needs a second bowl of ice cream. Ever.
I'm not suggesting that all my kids are safe from obesity. I do know I'm doing what I can to fight the devastating and dangerous trend that is all around us.
I think this is one of many instances when telling a child "no" can be literally lifesaving.

(Betsy Hart hosts the "It Takes a Parent" radio show on WYLL-AM 1160 in Chicago. Reach her through betsysblog.com. for more stories, visit scrippsnews.com.)

FROM THE HART