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I heard a great radio interview about this subject this morning. The doctor who was the guest on the show said that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is directly responsible for the rise in obesity levels in this country. I never knew this, but he said that childhood obesity was never a serious problem until the USDA began publishing that stupid "food group pyramid" with all the grain products at the bottom.

Maybe I'm just a little simplistic here when I suggest we should ignore the entire carbohydrates/fat discussion. If your daily caloric intake matches the number of calories you burn every day, you won't have a problem (which is why exercise is far more important than dieting in any weight-loss program).

I agree AC, exercise is probably the most important part of being healthy more than diet.

Did you ever notice that just about EVERY diet mentions exercise? I heard a doctor say once that you could eat big macs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as long as you exercised every day, you probably wouldn't gain weight.

If your daily caloric intake matches the number of calories you burn every day, you won't have a problem (which is why exercise is far more important than dieting in any weight-loss program).

That's the skinny(har har.) Folks get sucked into buying "fat free" fig newtons or "fat free" gummy bears, perhaps not understanding that calories which are not spent are stored--as FAT. Of course, some calories are better than others nutritionally. But I don't know why this requires any special science. Eat your vegetables, go easy on the starches, and get plenty of exercise. Hell, my granny coulda told me that (she did!) If some folks do well on a high meat, low carb diet, I guess that's an option. I like to eat steak from time to time. But for me what works is about 60% vegetables, 20% protein and 20% carbs. And I get a lot of my protein through soy products and fish. I save up my meat intake for the gusto--rib eye steak.

I am interested in studies dealing with cancer and heart disease. I want to learn more about this darned trans fat. That hydrogenated oil is everywhere. I am already a high risk (ex smoker, family history of heart disease and cancer, New Jersey resident, type A personality). I am trying to minimalize the risk as much as possible. If that means no more cheese crackers, so be it.

Historically, the whole world eats starch in bread, potatos, rice, and pasta. The new thing that happens was the refined suger became very cheap in the US, in coparison to the income. Therefore, people start eating lots of sweets. That is the major difference in the diets. In addition, the TV programming became too attractive for the population to sit and watch, which leads to first no excersizes, and second to consumption of snacks!