She asks what their favorite foods are. Pizza, they say. They go right out and get them. It is as if an entire generation has forgotten certain basic principles, the way Europe, after Rome fell, forgot how to write. The fact that so many American kids are so big today is evidence of this country's advertising skills, says Berkeley family physician Dr. Steven Hart.
Taste buds are exploitable.
Hart, who admits he takes an aggressive attitude toward his patients' weight, points out that about 15 years ago the average American ate a pound and a half of sugar every week. Now it's over 3 pounds, much of it in processed foods like soda and hamburger buns. A recent study found that fewer than one-fourth of North American children exercise even half an hour daily. The average child spends four hours a day watching TV, a blend of junk-food brainwashing and lethargy that infuriates Hart. His youngest fat patients are years away from the mondo acne and excessive menstrual bleeding that often menace overweight teens.