critical mass: out of control salt, sugar, portions (wiki image)

obesity in children is reaching a critical mass in america and becoming a problem in developing countries. take a look at this article and explanatory graphics to see why and how we can help foster healthier lifestyles for our children today ~ sb
[read MORE~> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deepak-chopra/childhood-obesity_b_1029606.html ]  

EXCERPTS:
In your child’s case, look to see which factors are coming together at the same time:

• Fast food. The rise of cheap, low-nutrition, highly-processed foods is a major factor in child obesity. Regularly eating food from fast-food restaurants, instead of home-cooked meals, has become the norm for many kids.
• Portion sizes. The sizes of typical portions have risen drastically in the last 20 or 30 years, both in restaurants and at home. As an example, the original size of a soda bottle was 8 oz., and it contained 97 calories. Today the average size of a soda bottle is 20 oz., containing about 250 calories. The same holds true for servings of French fries, sandwiches, burgers, chips — just about any food or drink you can name.
• Snacking. Many kids get most of their calories they consume on a given day from snacks, not from regular meals. The snacks tend to be unhealthy chips, cookies, candy and sodas. Kids drink, on average, 24 oz. of soda a day.
• Inactivity. The growth of unhealthy eating has been paralleled by the rise of inactivity. As every parent is aware, kids spend a huge amount of time using computers, TVs and video games these days. In the U.S., kids use these devices almost 8 hours a day.
• Gym classes have been disappearing from schools, too: One-half of public elementary schools have PE only 1-2 days per week./li>
• Ads. Kids are barraged with ads for unhealthy foods on TV, on the Internet, in text messages and in podcasts. The average child sees more than 40,000 commercials a year, most of them for junk food.
• Less sleep. Kids are sleeping less than they used to, and that, studies have found, increases the risk that a child will become overweight or obese — even for infants and toddlers.

via Deepak Chopra: No More Laughing at Fat Kids.

Unfortunately, this is McDonald's Biggest Fan (Image via Wikipedia)