The comment from Teri in Vancouver got my attention. After my last child was born, I was at 205 lbs. I have now lost 75 lbs and kept it off for more than a year. Go for it!! It is worth it. I feel so good, physicaly and about myself. I now go weight training 3 times a week, and practice karate as many times a week as I can. The big 40 years old is looming around the corner. I now try to be a support for anyone who wants to better their health and lifestyle. All I have to say is, go for it! YOU are worth it!

Having had two older stepchildren with horrendous eating habits and the weight problems that generally go along with it, I decided when I was pregnant that my child would have no such troubles. I was successful, thank God. I think I may be able to help others.

First, my little one was simply not allowed to eat any junk food until he was two years old. The reason was I wanted him to acquire a taste for naturally good tasting food . That included candy, chocolate, chips, cheezies, and gum.

Second, I made my own baby-food. It's not a chore. It's not time consuming, and it's far cheaper than buying it. Buy fresh fruit and vegetables (and meat after a while), cook them only until they're tender, pop them in a blender with a bit of water if needed, and then freeze them in ice-cube trays. A cube of carrot, a cube of chicken, a cube of peas, with a cube of strawberries for dessert, was typical.

Third, try not to feed your child "whites". A child will develop a taste for whole wheat bread just as easily as white bread. Slowly introduce the grainier breads. Try not to use white sugar, and if you do, use only a little. Same goes for salt. You can also get whole grain pastas.

Fourth, don't insist that your child clean his plate. He'll finish when he's full. Put it away and try a bit later if you don't think he's had enough. Don't give them snack food if they haven't finished their meal. Give them back their meal.

Fifth, don't give snacks for two hours before meals, but if your child is "starving", give them fruit or vegetables.

The result of what I did is this: An 11 year old boy whose favorite fast food is Subway or Wendy's chili. His favorite food overall is beef and broccoli stir-fry, with homemade spaghetti coming a close second. He'll chose carrot cake over chocolate cake any day. He's a healthy 95 pounds at 4'11" tall.

And as a bonus... He's a straight A student who is a second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

I am so tired of hearing about child obesity. Parents... Give your head a great big shake. At what point has our parents absolved total responsibility for the health of their children and blamed it on advertising, fast food restaurants, etc.
Growing adolescents will eat and eat a lot. That they eat is not necessarily the issue but what they eat and how much physical activity is expected of them is. If parents sit on the couch and eat unhealthily then children will probably do the same. Get up, get moving, eat heathily (like there isn't enough information about that!), make positive lifestyle choices and your children will do the same. And please... stop blaming it on everyone else but yourselves!

I cannot agree more with this column. We, the parents are our childrens future in health, in alot of ways. They see us eat chips and pop before bed, they probably will too. Being in the health profession I am constantly health teaching with my two young girls. But when is it too much? I don't want them to be to self consious about their bodies. There is a fine line that we must be careful to not cross. Yes, we want to teach healthy eating habits but must remember to add that it is not so much about the body image but the healthy body. It is not so much to be small and thin but lean and strong. It is a constant battle for parents these days, we are fighting against advertisements, magazines, peer pressure and the list goes on and on. My only advice is to teach our children about moderation, excersize, healthy choices and to love who they are.

I understand that it's tough to make sure your kids eat well. I really do.
I had always been a 'big' kid, which in itself led to asthma, poor self-esteem, and clinical depression, among other things.
I'm 21 now, and I look and feel better than I ever have.
Now, I don't hate my Dad, but while a single parent raising my brother and I, things were tough. It's certainly not easy that things like Kraft Dinner and McDonalds are 'cheap,' in the grand scheme of things. Now that I make my own choices, I've lost over 30 pounds, and feel so much better.
The problem is education.
It's SO easy, hell, TOO easy, to dump your kids in front of a tv, a PC, and/or and XBOX 360 and let them do their thing.
Why should we spend billions on people who are too lazy and weak-willed to look after themselves? Educate your kids. Let them know of the imminent disaster that is obesity.
Parents, quit placing the blame somewhere else because of YOUR own laziness. I know it's hard, but it's doable.
Don't treat the symptoms, treat the problem.

Thankfully I learned early on and when I noticed my pants getting snug in my late 20's/early 30's I was able to notch up the activity levels to drop the pounds and inches acquired during too many hours sitting at a desk. It's a bit scary to see how many people I know with who aren't even fighting it and they're passing on their habits to their kids. Endless complaints about how they can't do what they used to, yet no effort to get up off the couch. It's sad to see a generation who will live shorter, sicker lives than their parents.

I can whole heartedly agree with bad eating habits in youth. I myself am an 18 year old first-year university student, and I can say that my eating habits are not the greatest: Chocolate Icecream, Noodles, pizza and whenever I feel guilty, small portions of fruits and vegetables.

Fortunately, I have a high metabolism at the moment(I'm 5'10" but only 135lbs) so I can keep the unhealthy "look" away, if not the unhealthy body. I do worry about later on in life, and have been making incremental changes to my diet.(such as eating fruits and vegetables, vowing to go to the gym this summer...whether I do it or not remains to be seen).

Personally, I think one of the reasons that unhealthy food is so prominent amongst youth is that it's ready to be eaten in a shorter amount of time. Healthy food generally takes longer periods to cook, and as citizens of a consumer "now" culture, we're not willing to wait.

I know that, living at my mothers as recently as last year, I took for granted the way -healthy- food just appeared on my table. Now that I live on my own, I find myself often unwilling to take the time to cook that food. I settle for noodles instead.

Oh man, can I attest to the bad eating habits can stick with us into adulthood and it has been a true adventure and struggle to get to where I should be.

As a child and teen (actually right up to my mid-20s), I was a stick...a stick with a huge appetite, a high metabolism and was hyperactive. Great combination, I'd say, except my diet wasn't anything "to write home about" as your article says.

While at home, my mother made sure I ate healthy, but she couldn't really monitor me outside of the home, especially when I started making my own money at a fairly young age and could buy my own "treats".

Then when I turned 26, I became my own expanding universe!

When I finally clocked in at 300 lbs, developed asthma and started having severe joint pain last year (I'm now in my 40s), I realised Something Had To Be Done. I'm slogging at it. It's not easy but I've lost nearly 20 lbs in 2.5 months and I struggle with making sure I eat right. I still love my sweets and am tempted by the Junk Food Gods, but I'm successful at not being tempted more often than I am.

Still, there's a long way to go.

I show people, especially those who are much younger than I am who are still slender and healthy, pictures of me when I was in my teens and early 20's, then tell them to look at me now. Same thing can happen to them so please eat healthy and exercise regularly. If I can make one of them realise that this can be a reality in their future, then I've done my job.