Fast food + nearby schools = fat kids

Not right.

"Youth who study just a short walk from a fast-food outlet eat fewer fruit and vegetables, drink more soda and are more likely to be obese than students at other schools, according to research published Tuesday...

The study, which involved more than 500,000 adolescents at middle schools and high schools in California, lends new fuel to a growing backlash against the fast-food industry as studies suggest they contribute to the rising obesity epidemic in the United States."

This is another bold-faced attempt to blame others for the failings of nutritional child-abusing parents.

Fat kids come from more Calories in than out over time.

Parents are to blame.

"Consumer groups have pushed for laws such as July's moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in certain Los Angeles neighborhoods, while the food industry often maintains that a lack of exercise is more to blame."

And parents are the people who compose consumer groups.

Far be it from them to point their pudgy fingers at themselves. That is why the matter cannot begin to get resolved.

There are more meals in the day where children can eat things other than fast foods. These are generally had at a place called "home."

I have for years recommended that fast food restaurants located near schools restrict the sale of "Student-size" meals to kids.

Instead of super-sizing meals, which clearly have more Calories, "student-sizing" meals would lower Calories.

"For the study, Davis and colleagues examined the relationship between fast-food restaurants located within one half mile of schools and obesity among middle and high school students in California."

And the kids can still get their "exercise," too.