Why is there such a high percentage of obesity?

I take my 5 year old daughter to school everyday. I've noticed that about 85% of the children at the school are overweight, I am not kidding. Especially the girls. Walking down the street you may notice the same thing. Is this because of all the fast and processed foods? Is it because people don't work how they use to..(farming, hard labor) What is the cause and is there a soloution? I live in Canada. There are doctors in this country that won't accept a patient that smokes. Aren't the prolonged effects of obesity going to cause the same problems that a smoker may endure?

Obesity is caused by a lack of self control, knowledge, and self discipline being passed on to our children. We Americans love to live in excess so when it comes to something as wonderful as food, we just can鈥檛 help ourselves at the buffet line. We have to change our way of life and actually take responsibility for our actions. Fast food is delicious and their commercials are amazing but it is still up to the individual whether or not they will eat there. Blaming the fast food chains is just lazy way of exonerating yourself of guilt. As for Knowledge, no one seems to understand the concept of only taking in what you burn. There is an over abundance of information out there, there is no reason for anyone to not know what their own diet should be. Fad diets don鈥檛 work, you should only lose about 2.5 lbs a week, and you should always eat more veggies than any other food. A typical meal for someone who sits at a desk all day and rarely exercises should consist of a variety of veggies, some dairy, and a small side of meat and grains. You can eat bad things if you exercise enough though. We are one of the few species perfectly built for long distance running and yet the average American can hardly make it around the block. I put all the blame on the parents. Take the time to teach your kids to eat right, exercise, and for frack sake, live the example.

Fast foods, including fruit snacks, granola bars, T.V. dinners, etc are very accessible to everyone.
These foods are high in calories and not very filling, so you eat more than the serving size to get threw those snacking periods that children need because of their higher metabolism needs.
Children also spend to much time indoors in front of the TV or on the computer, they really need more time outdoors with other children and healthy snacks, like real apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, etc.

its because kids would rather do things inside, such as color, watch TV, or even sleep. they don't want to go outside and play. and then they get bored and look for a convenient snack which is usually the individually wrapped snack cakes or small bags of chips rather than carrot sticks or fruit salad. i think that obesity could become discriminated, but it's spreading like a highly contagious disease- fast, and a lot of cases of it are turning up everywhere. i highly doubt it would be discriminated, since it seems that everyone is starting to end up like that. fat and lazy. disgusting.

Its because all the junk food is cheaper, have you noticed how much more expensive fresh fruit and veggies are? and since most people live in poverty and are broke alot of the time thats all they can afford, I'm completely in love with all things organic and fresh but my family isnt rich so we dont really have a choice but to eat crap.

obese people disgust me, theyre lazy but they want the world to feel bad for them because their overweight.
what causes it are the extra large portions at restaurants excessive eating and NO excerise.
the main here though is LAZINESS
they eat out more because they do not want to cook, they use the drive thru because they dont want to go into the store and they do things to avoid even the slightest excercise.

let's see....
-bad diet
-no exercise
-bad habits : the fact that people can get just about anything they need by ordering off their computer and never have to get their fat as*es off their couches and leave their houses
-parents setting bad examples
-too much soda and sugar
-I've noticed all the fatties too. not to be crass , but there is no reason a parent should allow their 4 year old to weigh 80 lbs, ya know...I mean who's really in charge there???

I think it must be the fastfood franchise commercials where they confuse ppl into eating there food. Which means that they tell people to eat there food.

It could also be bad parenting where the parents just take them to mcdonalds or something.

Well that's my guess. Sorry if I can't fully explain it.

we live in a fast world... everyone needs to work these days & our diet has suffered because of this. people cook quick meals that are full of sugar & salt. im not saying everyone does this,so dont jump on the band wagon guys.... im a single parent,work full time but make sure my 15yr old son has veg at least 3 times a week, doesnt drink fizzy drinks (he loves milk,thank goodness) & doesnt sit infront of the computer for hours... its about education

because unhealthy food tastes to darn good and it is usually cheaper than healthier options ( at least where I am from HK that is!)

its all MC Donald's fat. Luring kinds with a clown.

The problem is technology. Kids have so many things inside the house to entertain them that they don't just play anymore. Video games. Then because in most homes moms and dads have to work, dinner is fast food. Kids aren't growing up in the same society we are. They are lazy. But parents have changed as well. We don't require our kids to do the things we had to do like chores, getting out of the house, or making time for them by keeping them busy we just buy them toys to keep them busy and then we walk away. Until parents start parenting again and kids start being kids again it won't change. My kids play outside all the time. thay are skinny. My husbands son sits in front of a gaming system all day and he is overweight and unhappy.

Yes, the high rate of obesity is due to fast food and laziness.
The solution to the problem is fairly easy though...excersice and having a balanced diet, eating junk foods in moderation.
Child hood obesity is often due to the parents, not telling their children to go out and play, to run around, to encourage their child to get involved in athletic activities...it's just easier for parents to give their children the junk food and let their child sit in front of the TV or computer and not pay any attention to what the child is doing.
I myself wasn't obese as a child. When I came home from school, my mom made sure I was outside playing, and I was always involved in some organized physical activity as a kid. As an adult I still am fairly healthy. But I was never let to sit in front of the TV with a giant bag of potato chips, so I don't have that behaviour ingrained in me.
Yes, the problem with obesity is just as dangerous as smoking.(I myself don't smoke. I try not to hang around those who do...I just can't stand the smell of cigarettes.)
Junk foods are very addictive, too much of them can cause MAJOR health problems.