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For more than 25 years we've watched ourselves and our children get fatter. In fact, we've structured our society to make it almost inevitable. Machines dispensing calorie dense, nutrient deficient food and drink are everywhere, including schools and hospitals. Children are chauffeured to school in buses or even in SUV's with DVD players for the rear seats. 
Gas stations still serve gas, but they've increasingly become filling stations for humans with aisles piled high with chips, Cheezies, chocolate, chewing gum, Coke, candy and other "convenience" foods. (Ironically, convenience foods often lead to the ultimate inconvenience of carrying massive amounts of extra flesh on your body 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.)
All this might be about to change because of some research conducted by Dr. Jon Beckmann and published in the Journal of Zoology. Our bears are having lifestyle problems. Dr. Beckmann reports that many urban bears are 1/3 less active than their forest 
dwelling counterparts. Instead of foraging for berries and wildlife the bears make nocturnal visits to the dumpsters of fast food outlets and don't even bother to hibernate as they have easy access to a year round supply of calories. The pathetically predictable result is that the less active, fast food fed bears are already more than 30% heavier than their rural counterparts and obviously in need of 'beariatric' medicine. I have this vision of overweight, diabetic, coronary bypassed adults creating a 'Save Our Bears' (nice acronym) campaign, oblivious of Gandhi's advice to become the change you wish to see in others, even bears.
Switching species, it is not surprising that by far the fastest growing segment of the 12 billion-dollar pet food industry is weight control pet food. Jeffrey P. Ansell, president of Iams Pet Food, explains that dogs and cats are often treated like surrogate children and that we're now fattening up our pets in the same way we've fattened up our children and ourselves.
The multi-national giants whose products have helped us gain weight have been busy buying up companies that produce pet food. Proctor and Gamble, producer of Pringles, now owns Iams, Del Monte took over Heinz pet foods, which produces things like Pounce, 9 Lives, Meaty Bone and Gravy Train. Not to be outdone, Nestle bought up Ralston Purina and can now add Fancy Feast, Alpo, Puppy Chow and Tender Vittles to its product line.
Let's leave aside bears and pets and focus on the human species. The rule for weight loss and wellness is the same rule as for many other endeavors, "If it's going to be, it's up to me." Don't wait for legislation, medication, insurance benefits, fat taxes or programs at work or school, all those can help but they all take time.
Right now, try to exercise daily by setting time aside for purposeful activity and by making small alterations in your lifestyle to burn more calories. If you're overweight, be aware of the calories you consume and what it takes to burn them off; it takes 45 minutes to an hour to burn off a chocolate bar and about 7 hours to walk off the calories in a full sized fast food meal including fries and a soda. It's so much easier not to eat the chocolate and drive (or better still) walk right by the fast food emporiums, just remember what's happening to those urban bears.
