Alarms on youth obesity in Mass.

Warning! Warning, Will Robinson! More s**t for brains.

More than one-third of Massachusetts students evaluated during the 2008-2009 school year were overweight or obese, according to a report released yesterday that revealed stark differences in how the obesity epidemic has touched cities and towns.

The study, which reflects weight and height measurements for about 110,000 students, for the first time provides data on separate school districts and underscores the role of poverty and affluence in determining weight.

Lawrence, one of the state’s poorest cities, had the highest rate of students with excessive weight, about 47 percent. Arlington, a wealthier suburban community with a longstanding commitment to nutrition and exercise campaigns, had the lowest level, about 10 percent.

“Impoverished, and especially inner-city communities, are almost optimally designed to promote obesity, depriving children of access to high-nutrition, lower-calorie foods like fruits and vegetables and beans,’’ said Dr. David Ludwig, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children’s Hospital Boston.

Since it is all about Calories in vs. Calories out and nothing else, every other excuse, e.g., access to certain foods, "bad" environment, etc., is plainly and simply, bull.