Unfattening our children: forks over feet.

Abstract

Childhood obesity rates have risen alarmingly for decades, and although recent data suggest a possible plateau, obesity is seen in ever younger children, and is increasingly severe. The proximal cause of obesity is energy imbalance; the root cause is modern living. Throughout most of human history, calories were relatively scarce and hard to get, and physical activity unavoidable. We have devised a modern world, in which physical activity is scarce and hard to get and calories are unavoidable. Although both sides of the energy balance equation matter, forced to pick sides, we should prioritize forks over feet for weight control based on both science and sense. The modern world makes it very easy to out-eat exercise, and nearly impossible to out-exercise excessive eating.