A human infant is a pretty helpless creature. They aren’t really capable of much but they do have one characteristic that many of us long for. They know how to eat when they are hungry and stop when they are satisfied. When a baby is breastfed on demand they will nurse more frequently and vigorously when they are going through “growth spurts” yet they seem to be able to just lazily take an occasional sip when they are nursing “for comfort”. Many scientific studies confirm that humans, even newborns have a distinct inborn preference for foods that are sweet and creamy and those tend to be the ones we will gorge upon. A “breastfed on demand” baby may as well have a free pass to Baskin-Robbins - so how do they regulate their food intake when the supply is plentiful, palatable and already prepared?

We are experiencing record growth ... at least in our waistlines. According to a 2008 report by the Center For Disease Control (CDC), more than two-thirds of the adults in the US were overweight, and more than half were obese. Apparently, the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree as the same report claims 30 percent of American children are overweight, and 15 percent are considered to be obese. How did we get here? I think that our wishes have come true. Unfortunately, like the opening line of one of my favorite stories, “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, “Be careful what you wish for; you may receive it.”

In the decade preceding World War II, there was a severe worldwide economic collapse we now call the Great Depression. It began in the United States with the stock market crash but quickly became global. Hunger, homelessness, and hopelessness were rampant; and they produced lingering effects even after the economic situation improved. Parents lived in fear of starvation for themselves and their children. It became commonplace to admonish one’s children to “clean your plate” because “there are starving children in Africa.” Famine continues to be a problem in Africa, which makes the “epidemic” of childhood obesity on the continent particularly ironic. The International Obesity Task Force (IOTC) found that in some countries in Africa obesity is much more common than starvation-related malnutrition. In Morocco and Zambia up to 20 percent of four year olds are overweight or obese. Neville Rigby, public affairs director at IOTC, reports that around the continent about 0.7 percent of the children demonstrate features of clinical malnutrition, but four times that many are overweight or obese. In Egypt, more than 25 percent of four-year-old children are too fat.

What causes clumsiness? Is it inattention to what’s going on or the result of a physically uncoordinated body? You may think your perpetually clumsy child just needs to be more careful or learn how to dance or play a sport. The reality is that many clumsy children don’t have awkward bodies at all. Their problem is in their vision or perception. Think of it this way: if children’s eyes don’t work well as team, they may bump into things because, while they can see they object, they don’t know where they are in relation to the object. If they have difficulties catching or kicking a ball, they may see the ball but not know where it is in relation to their hands or feet. The good news is that the underlying visual problems can often be easily identified and treated.

I was watching the Disney film, Pinocchio, the other day with one of my nieces; and I was struck by how effectively it dealt with the topic of temptation. Temptation is obviously something we all struggle with from time to time. The kind and gentle puppet-maker Gepetto had wished that the little marionette “could be a real boy.” The Blue Fairy didn’t just give Pinocchio the gift of life; she also gave him wisdom, guidance, and the sense of accomplishment that accompanies success. She told him

“It’s up to you to become a real boy. You will be a real boy when you have learned right from wrong and proven yourself to be brave, unselfish, and truthful.”

“How do I do that?” asked Pinocchio.

“You listen to your conscience,” said the Blue Fairy.

“What’s a conscience?” asked Pinocchio.

Jiminy Cricket replied, “Your conscience is the little voice that tells you when you’re doing something you shouldn’t be doing!”

What if, as you are enjoying your delicious Chinese takeout, you open your fortune cookie, and it says...

“You will always be fat.”

Just writing these words make my heart palpitate; yet, for many teenage girls, this thought is their constant companion. It is said that males have a sexual thought every 52 seconds. Well, at least they get a break! Amidst real concerns about the rise in childhood obesity and its collateral health risks, there seems to be a new snake in the grass stalking our children—eating disorders. Most people seem to believe that relentless media pressure for thinness is to blame for this threat, but I think the real culprit is our failure to find workable strategies for everyday eating.

Although it may seem that the problem of childhood obesity has sprung up overnight, in reality, we should have seen it coming years ago. Much like hurricane warnings on television, we may have observed the brewing storms with casual interest, but until they affected us directly, we were not likely to take action. Many factors have played a role in the sudden jump in childhood obesity, but until they came together to create the perfect storm, we were just as unlikely to take action.

Of course, in any perfect storm there are always winds and currents that amplify the situation. But there are also discrete, smaller storms that combine to make a whole greater than the sum of its parts. In the case of overweight children, I believe three separate storms have joined forces to create this perfect storm: (1) abundant, available calories; (2) bored, sedentary children; and (3) moms who are stretched too thin  (figuratively). If we look closely, we can actually see these storms arose from faulty assumptions: that more nutrients mean more health, that learning takes place only through formal education, and that it is possible to multitask effectively.

Has it ever occurred to you what a great metaphor the sinking of the Titanic is for one of today’s most pressing problems: namely, childhood obesity? The parallels are striking.

The Titanic was huge, opulent, and the ultimate in luxury. No expense was spared in her construction or décor. Everything about her conveyed abundance with a capital “A.” Yet, this magnificent ship was not invincible. She sank to the bottom of the sea, along with most of her treasures and passengers.

How does this relate to childhood obesity? Consider the parallels.

Compared with much of the world, Americans live in extreme luxury, especially when it comes to food. No expense is spared in providing appealing, appetizing, and available food to both adults and children. This, too, is abundance with a capital “A.” Yet, our children are at risk—not of sinking into the sea, but of succumbing to a host of grown-up illnesses and emotional problems. Like the Titanic, they are not invincible.

If there is one thing human beings are good at, it’s adapting. In fact, we have a staggering ability to adapt to just about any environment. About 10,000 years ago we ate only what the earth offered us, which was limited to seasonal fruits and vegetables and whatever meat we could come by. Aside from occasional nuts or seeds we could pack away for emergencies, food was in short supply during the long, lean winter months. Unlike most animals, humans couldn’t digest grasses or leaves to keep us going. Yet, while we had lost the claws and fangs of other predators, we more than made up for them with our brains’ cunning and creativity. Those brains needed lots of fuel to function—in other words, food.

If we wanted to hunt meat rather than be meat, we needed to stay focused. Hunting a large animal took many hours and sometimes days. This required stealth and strategy, but above all, motivation. Even when our early ancestors were cold or tired or sick, their survival depended on their desire to seek and consume food. Today, though our survival no longer depends on those things, it is always right below the surface. Motivation is instinctive.

The human brain has two parts—the old and the new, which is also called the cortex. The old brain is primitive; it operates quickly and automatically. The new brain, on the other hand, is deliberate. It thinks, plans, and strategizes. It modifies impulsive behavior, if it has a compelling reason to do so. Without the influence of the cortex human beings would always act on instinct and respond automatically and predictably.

Houston, we have a problem….

Apollo 13 Captain Jim Lovell uttered these words in 1970. Due to a major electrical malfunction in the lunar module, Lovell and his crew had to abort their mission to the moon and figure out a way to return safely to earth. To accomplish this, they had to do a lot more than merely report the problem; they had to identify what it was. Let’s face it: until you get the problem right, it doesn't matter how brilliant the solution is.

Earth, we have a problem.

That's right, Earth. This problem isn't confined to USA. It affects people all over the world. And the problem we’re talking about is not childhood obesity, which is what we seem to insist on calling it. By defining it as childhood obesity, we have come up with appropriate but ineffective solutions like diet, exercise, and fat camps (yes, they really call them that!). In medicine, we call this identifying the symptoms. For example, when we get a cold, it is common to have a stuffy head, runny nose, and cough. These are not the cold; they are symptoms of the cold.