Some say it's actually a disease. Others are sadly born with it. Others just become that way. People are generally getting bigger.

The question is, if a child becomes bigger and bigger, simply because he's always hungry and the parents pity the child (in the short term) being hungry and continuously feeding him because she can't stand the sight of her child wailing in hunger, could you blame her?

(I actually saw this over CNN many weeks back, so, it's not hypothetical.)

I really think that people just don't watch what they eat the way they should. I know I have a habit eating food that I shouldn't.

I have a son that right now always wants to eat. Everytime I turn around he is hungry. I just assume it is another growth spurt but what I do is make sure that I have alot of foods that are low in calories and that are good for you to eat.

As was in the news, the US is No. 1 in obesity and 42nd in longevity of life. That tells you a lot about us in too many ways.

Boy , these are hard questions. My son was a chunky boy, but leaned to eat and satisfy his needs, so he grew up without the xtra baggage.

There are people that have a disease that causes them to not feel full, therefore they equate not being full with being hungry. They can actually eat themselves to death.

When my son was around 12 years old he was chunky. He decided on his own to wath what he ate and kost it all. He is married now and has never put the weight back on. And he eats anthing he wants.

That's great, riskey, that your son could do that. The people that have this disease can't control what they eat because they actually never feel full.

I am very lucky to have learned to eat right , early on. My one son is over six foot and keeps himself around 200 pounds, this is good, Number 2 son is under six foot and keeps his weight over 200 pounds. He has always struggled and has a lot of duffculties in the eating right department. I help as much as I can. but it is a struggle.

Eating right, even at the expense of not having the short-term gratification of eating as much as you want, always pays off in the long term. I know a lot of people who are 5 feet 8 inches or so going for 230, 250 pounds, and the short-term gratification of eating always leads to the rest of the day feeling bad and burdened for being overweight.

Yes people are getting heavier....they are also taller than ever before. None of the studies that talk about the average weight of the American people going up ever mention that they are also taller. Of course a woman who is 5'8 weighs more than a woman who is 5'0.

As for eating right. We are busier than ever. Women used to be the only provider of food. Her life revolved around getting food for her family cooked and on the table. If a person ate out it was literally a rare, once or twice in a lifetime event.

Now we tend to eat out daily or at least several times a week. The food isn't as healthy. It's a vicious cycle.

I agree, accer. It is a vicious cycle. I think there are things that people can do, but they're not easy to do, so they don't stick with them.

You bet it is a horrible cycle. The fast food industry is so prevalant in our society today. We are bomb-barded by all the ads and commericals. It is no wonder the young weigh as much as they do.