I think that the portion control is the biggest problem....but not just with fast foods! Sit an watch the ads on TV sometime. It's not just the fast food places that advertise that can get larger portions. Applebee's, Joe's Crab Shack, Chili's...and more....they all promote that their portions are bigger for your money....inticing people to come to their place and overeat.

As for the soda, etc in the schools....that I have a problem with! Especially in the elementary and Jr high levels! Come on, lets face it....you put 100 little kids in a room and offer them their favorite juice, water or almost any soda and most are going to pick the soda..even if it's not their favorite! We're sweet eaters....and it starts right in the cradle. Seems they've cut back or stopped, but when my kids were little (now 18 & 20) I was shocked to find what they added to baby and toddler foods! Extra sugar, starch to thicken, preservatives.....after seeing the labels I tried to make a good portion of their foods at home. (it's not tough, but very time consuming).

I've done web searches on several popular restaurants that advertise locally....looking for nutritional values....and they're not available. MacDonald's has had theirs available for years! You can search for the web....or you can ask at the counter and you'll get the nutritional value of their food. You have to make an effort, but you can get the info! The Burger King near me has a nutritional chart mounted on the wall right where the wait line is! I've asked for nutritional charts at Appleby's and Chili's and they do not have them available! (What's more...the "popular" restaraunts also offer alcoholic beverages...and "virgin" drinks for the kids! But that's another subject.)

People have to start taking responsibility for their own actions! If you feed your kid McDonald's, etc 3-5 times a week they're not only going to get fat, but they're not getting the nutrients they need....and they're going to grow up and continue to eat these foods!

My kids did grow up with TV and their comercials. And they did occasionally have fast foods. But I didn't let them have it whenever they wanted! There were limits....that's what parents are for! All too often it's easier to give in and give them what they want....be it fast foods, or soda, or TV! As a parent it is our job to put limits on things. And it's also our job to explain the good and bad about what's being advertised. "Don't believe everything you see or hear on TV" was a favorite line of my dad when I was growing up....and believe me my kids heard it hundreds of times from me too!

I personally am sick of people blaming others for their problems! I'm fat, I made myself this way. No one made me eat what I ate. No one forced a second helping of potatoes or milky way down my throat! I ate what I ate because I wanted to. It's my fault, and it's my responsibility.

And it time that people realised that their actions have consequences and they have to start taking reposnibility for their own actions!