---- — I was dismayed recently while I was looking for a parking place in the lot of a local grocery store. A car pulled up to the front doors and out from the passenger side exited a woman and a boy. Judging by their interaction, it was a mother and her rather plump son.

Both appeared more than capable of walking from the parking lot, but instead like many others these days, they were dropped off as close to the store as possible.

The young boy, who probably was about 10, could have benefited from a little walk. He was pudgy, to say the least, and a poster child of what is fueling our country’s obsession with obesity among our youth.

I say obsession because like with all causes, extremists have surfaced, complicating a problem that has fundamental roots — most Americans, especially our youth, don’t get enough exercise to burn off the calories they are consuming. Barring any medical problems, I believe that’s the core of the problem, not only that burger and fries from McDonald’s.

Fast-food restaurants across the country have been besieged to offer healthy alternatives, crispy salads and such to vegetable-based choices. Building on successful lawsuits filed against tobacco companies, such litigation against fast-food restaurants started to accelerate in the 1990s. People were suing the restaurants, claiming that the food caused them to be fat.

On two occasions, the proposed federal American Responsibility in Food Consumption Act sought to restrict lawsuits against fast-food companies. The Cheeseburger Bill was passed by the House in 2004 and again in 2005, but failed to get to the Senate for a vote.

The bill’s author, former representative Ric Keller and recipient of fast-food restaurants’ financial support throughout the years, said of the bill: “To fight obesity, we should use commonsense in the food court instead of blaming others in legal court.”

The variety of outdoor activity experienced when we were kids won’t likely return for a host of reasons, with a near addiction to computers ranking near the top of the list. Many of today’s youth get exercise in their fingers and that’s about it. Rather than downing a hot dog and Coke in between street games, they’re doing it during a break in their computer games.

When I was a kid, growing up while eating all of the great Italian meals prepared by my grandparents, my parents and my aunts and uncles, I nevertheless was as skinny as a rail. The cooks in my family were proud of their work, and it was unthinkable to leave the table unless your plate was empty.

If you didn’t finish, it was an insult to the cooks, and nothing was “lite” in any way. Throw in all of the ethnic picnics at the church grounds throughout town that featured lamb, pork, beef and chickens on the spit, and it was scrumptious food at every turn.

We satisfied our sweet tooth with fresh donuts from one of many great Farrell bakeries, ice-cold Cokes from vending machines, sundaes and banana splits from Mr. Softee, and flavored balls of shaved ice from the cart pushed around Farrell’s brick streets by members of the Basile family.

You get the picture. We ate Whoppers, Big Macs and lots of fries (especially the fabulous ones from Conneaut Lake Park) in our day, but we burned it off, like some kids still do today. They’re the ones who still ride a bicycle or walk from A to B, still play on the streets or in the fields, or eschew computer basketball in favor of the real thing.

As for the continued bombardment of fast-food chains, tabbing them as public enemy number one for our obesity problem is nonsense. Of course, burgers and fries are high in calories, and the chicken and fish sandwiches rank right there as well.

But I’ve always believed that nothing hurts in moderation, and that exercise goes a long way in keeping the pounds off and the body healthy. I’m a real believer in freedoms of all kinds, and in this case, the freedom of fast-food restaurants to serve what they want, and the freedom of patrons to eat what they want ... with a little exercise in between, of course.

Hope you had a great Fourth of July yesterday, with plenty of grilled hot dogs and greasy, slightly-charred cheeseburgers, the official food of our great summer holiday.



Jim Raykie is the editor of The Herald and his column appears on Mondays. You can e-mail him at jraykie@sharonherald.com or follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Jim Raykie.