In my high school graduating class of 34, there were three obese people. I suppose that's three too many, but I don't see it as a serious problem.

I think it's very serious. With the advent of video games and computers, children don't go outside and play like I used to when I was a kid.

its pretty bad, im a little chubby(fatty) 160 at 5'6 and i have sever issues about my apreance because of my weight. its bad 4 the psychy and bad for the people

Very serious. Now I don't blame fast food, as that's often seen as the culprit. I blame it on whoever wants his/her/their children to come home from school and do nothing except veg out in front of the TV (here in Vietnam, the school day lasts from 6:45-4:55, so these kids actually SHOULD veg out!) The kids should play and not lie around eating junk food constantly.

very serious...diabetes 2, caused by obesity, will be the number one disease in america in 5 years. more people will die from diabetes than almost all other diseases combined in 20 to 30 years. id say its pretty serious and preventable.

well i'm what you'd call obese but my son is quite skinny (so is my soon-to-be ex)i was never heavy when growing up, i was actually a size 5-6 even after highschool. but with age sometimes comes weight. but then there are those with medical problems. i had Endometriosis and then 2yrs later had a Hysterectomy but in those 2yrs i would eat to fill my stomach so that when taking pain medication i would not get violently ill on an empty stomach...i've realized that i need to lose the weight so i can have a better lifestyle for myself and to show my son that eating healthy foods is better for you (even though he is not heavy at all, he barely makes his weight for his age (5))

Very, very serious. Obesity kills. It may take a while but it definetly can shave years off an otherwise long life

I think childhood obesity is extremely serious from what I've heard about it.

Really serious, how are the fat kids of today going to grow up to fight the oil wars of tomorrow.

I'm very concerned. I actually just wrote an article today on how to gently let your child know that they are overweight without being critical. Take a look if you like: http://www.ehow.com/how_2290865_tell-child-that-heshe-overweight.html

Childhood obesity is a serious problem in today's society as it is on the opposite spectrum of as eating disorders such as bulimia or anorexia nervosa, but still carries with it serious health implications that can affect an individual throughout their lifetime. One specific factor playing a role in childhood obesity are parents - they seem to have a large impact on the epidemic, for better or for worse. Check out the new post on our CED blog, revealing survey results conducted by researchers at the University of Minnesota that discuss the tried-and-true methods to help children develop healthy eating habits: http://eatingdisorder.org/blog/2008/07/02/%e2%80%9cdo-more-and-talk-less%e2%80%9d-%e2%80%93-dianne-neumark-sztainer-university-of-minnesota/.

if you think its not serious watch this

Tragically serious. There is enough of a problem with obesity without getting a head start on it in early chhioldhood.

serious... but schools get unfairly blamed for a large part of it. Yes, PE and health classes have been slashed but how much do you remember learning and doing in those classes. Most of my PE and health teachers looked half dead and could croak at any time. Its Cheaper and with the lack of time in peoples days its too easy to eat a hot pocket then a real meal.

I think it is only serious when you're very obese ("morbidly" obese as they say). Stigmatizing obese children or adults is discrimination! The problem is not obesity, the problem is unhealthy eating. People should not focus on weight but should eat more vegetables and fruits and do more exercise and their health will be better. Which is better? A fat happy kid who eat some vegetables and fruits and is active or a thin kid who doesn't eat healthy food and who is inactive? There has always been fat kids, and a good part of them lose weight before becoming adults. And some people even like being fat and try to manage to be fat and healthy.

I don't think that most kids are as big as the one's they put on Maury. If they were all that big, it would be an issue. Some people... are just big people. We are not all meant to be a size 2. The skinny's need to deal!

Obesity is a mounting problem ; especially in America ... Kids are allowed to watch HOURS and Hours of television .. Play Hours and Hours of Video games .... Talk on their Phones for Hours on end .... We did not have that years ago ... and the lazier our kids are ... the Less chores and work they do ... the FATTER they WILL get .... Then when Diabetes etc sets in ; parents want to begin crying and whinning .. and get on a TV show about it ... The time to STOP Childhood Obesity is NOW ; before they get obese ... or ..any more obese .

Not as bad as people make it out to be. But of course, as always, the real problem is with children and teens isn't it?

Very serious.

In America, it's off the charts. Not only are the kids fat, but the parents don't see anything wrong with it. It's discraseful. There are at least 20,000 kids dying every single day from starvation, and in my book, that negates all excuses.

I take it as serious, and regional. Kids have enough to deal with. While living in the South, at least half the elementary kids were extremely overweight. It was very obvious during P.E and recess. It's not good on growing bones to carry as much weight as the kids did. And they are only getting bigger. I'm currently in the Midwest,and I don't see as many over weight children here as I did down South, but it's at 25% in the poorer areas. The kids are a reflection of their parent's weight issues. Our school, has less then 10% overweight. Many kids are involved in sports,(select teams) are limited on gaming/tv and their parents are very healthy. They can afford to eat the better stuff and burn it off with an active life style. I remember being a child in the 60-70's and we only had one "fat" girl and boy in the whole school. We didn't have access to fast food, only 3 channels to choose from, and we rode our bikes everywhere. It's a different world, and our children are absorbing the brunt of it.

It is serious. I've seen many of them grow up. They are teased in school and on the streets. Bad eating habits are hard to break, especially when the obese and emotionally miserable child becomes an adult. It seems harder for these people to lose weight and a lot of them stay fat all of their lives.

In my sons elementary school, there are probably 5 overweight to obese kids out of 400 students. Very low number. But what's shocking is to see what the "skinny" kids eat and the problems they are having...pop tarts, chips, processed meats and cheese, soda and anything prepackaged. High blood pressure, diabetes and heart attack are on the rise at scary rates for these kids who appear to be healthy!

I think it's a real serious problem. not even talking about those poor obese kids are being teased in school. But the health toll is very high. A lot of childrens diabetis starts from obesity. Good example is my cousin who has been obese since school and has to do insulin shots in her 60th. She feels her body falls apart if she doesn't do insulin shots. Very sad.:(

hmm... it depends. Look at the parents to figure out if it's a real problem. If the parents are naturally slim and have a fast metabolism, that means that at ANY TIME the kids can change their habits and lose the weight quite rapidly. It's still not good, but it's better. But if obesity runs in the family and bad habits are encouraged, there is a serious problem.

i think yes childhood obesity is really serious because when ever I pass by in a school. I saw a number of school children that is really overweight. May there are 6 out of 10 children right now is obese and we as parents really need to do something about it. We need to watch there weight lose. because we wanted to see our children live longer and had a healthy lifestyle.

eh, not serious. Make them run it off.

Its a very serious issue Chief and its going to get much worse..what is very sad is that some parents don't realise the dangers of obesity and how it will seriously effect the health of their child..of course kids are alos eating far too many fast foods in their diets..in many ways I wish that was illegal..because they are slowly killing people..

Not nearly what the press would have you believe.

Very serious. Besides aggravating illnessses like diabetes or hypoglycemia, the fat cells that are produced at this young age are present in the body throughout their adult lifetime and make it much harder for their adult body to maintain a normal weight. Kids can be taught good eating habits much easier when they are young then later as adults.

Its a problem; but i do not belive that should give government or schools the right to tell us what to eat. Its our choice if we want to eat good tasting food and be fat, or eat shitty tasting "health food" and live miserable. They should genetically engineer healthy food which normally tastes like crap, such as vegetables and fruit, to taste like unhealthy but tasty food, like meat or fat, then maybe people would eat healthy. Like my doctor says "if it tastes good, spit it out, its probably bad for you".

Very serious. But you can't just tell the kid he is fat, and take everything away from him rapidly. Too many families are gobbling their food up, and out the door. Maybe off to a ball game, or family activity of another sort. These children pack in more food, than those that take longer. But if you try taking food away from a child, he will just eat more when your not around. Do not bring junk food home, to tempt any child. Furnish healthy snacks for them. Popcorn, vegies, and fruits are good sources. All children need refueling between meals. Mid morning or mid afternoon, is a good time for snacks. This will keep your child, from over eating at mealtime. I say limit that T.V. viewing also. Too much is one of the leading, contributors of rapid weight gain. You could also choose some low fat, and low calorie foods. But remember when you change your childs diet, small steps all the way. Families need to eat at the table. Not in their bedroom, watching t.v. or even talking on the phone. All food changes need to be for the whole family. You do not isolate just the child or children. You can take your child to the grocery store. Tell him to pick out healthy choices he likes. Throw your child out the door sort of speak. Tell him to go for a walk, ride his bkie, go swimming. walk the dog. You get the picture. He needs to use his arms and legs. Even check with the school. See if they have a swimming program.