Re: yeah we need gubment intervention

So the billions of dollars spent on marketing to kids by the fast food & snack food & soft drink industries has no effect? If it's ONLY the parents' fault I guess these companies are wasting their money.

My point is: you can't make parents solely responsible when they and their children are facing a continual barrage of highly developed, sophisticated advertising by some of the largest companies in America. A lot of these parents are in their 20s & 30s - you are old enough to be their parent. It's a different world from when you (and I - same age) grew up. If the kids are fat, the parents are probably fat too and grew up eating McDonalds. I have difficulty with the idea of placing all the blame on these parents when they probably grew up eating the same crap their kids are eating now.

When I was a kid, Coke and McDonald's were treats, not staples.