Obesity and Junk Food

This looks like an important list of statistics compiled by "Parents Against Junk Food":

1. Nine out of 10 schools offer junk food to kids.

2. One of every five calories in the American diet is liquid.

3. Researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumed, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.

4. The USDA supplies schools with the same commodity foods as prisons.

5. More than 32% of youths are overweight and nearly 74% are unfit.

6. About 19,000 public schools, 1 in every 5, sell branded food in the cafeteria.

7. Teenagers' milk consumption decreased by 36% between 1965 and 1996, while soda consumption increased by more than 200%.

8. Vending machines are in 43% of elementary schools and 97% of high schools.

9. Only 29% of adolescents meet the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity.

10. In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control declared obesity the most important public health issue in the United States.

I remember when I first became aware that my after-school snack was junk food. I was in the 8th grade, sitting on the couch with my brother and watching Duck Tales. We were both eating Oreos. I remember each bite was a crunchy, heavenly experience until I started thinking about my figure. All of a sudden, my teenage mind wondered, "If I want boys to like me, I had better stay nice and thin and not get fat eating junk food." To this day I have no idea where that thought came from. I remember my immediate dilemma was finding a healthy snack food that had the *crunch* that I enjoyed so much. I dug through the refrigerator and came up with a handful of carrots. I chose the biggest carrot of the bunch and peeled it. Then I rejoined my brother on the couch and ate my carrot like Bugs Bunny.

I've been a health nut ever since.