I understand about the possible brain injury of the 10-year old girl here but totally agree with what FlyerInHi (brian) has been trying to say in this thread.
Overweight is caused by taking in more calories than expended, plain and simple. I have always subscribed to viewing food as something one needed to survive and not as “pleasure inducement.” Having had several relatives (immed family and second-tier) who WEREN’T obese but nonetheless succumbed to heart failure at relatively young ages due to severe atherosclerosis, I have always been very mindful of what I eat since I have been on my own (age 17). My family originates from a flyover state where the local culture highly values extended family potlucks with lots of (homemade) starch and sweets. White or redeye gravy (made from lard) was served by the quart at 80% of dinners when I was growing up (along with lots of white bread with butter or margarine with trans fats). Even most vegetables were first fried in cornmeal (with shortening w/trans fats) and eaten with redeye gravy. The few dozen relatives I have whom are still living (boomer and older portion) have since gotten a clue (after attending dozens of funerals of family members) and have done an about-face on their daily diet in recent years and have long since quit smoking. While the vast majority of my relatives worked (physically) hard throughout their lives and were not obese (some were even thin), it is now widely known that this type of diet will kill you before your time and it is entirely culturally-based. This is why some regions of the country have far higher obesity rates than other regions. It is all this population knew and what they were brought up with.
There’s nothing wrong with eating oatmeal 6-7 mornings per week (however one likes it), 52 weeks per year. There’s nothing wrong with eating the same things every day/week or subscribing to a mostly vegetarian or even vegan diet. Food is simply fuel to live well and do what one needs to do. If it was viewed in that vein by everyone (as well as the necessity of daily exercise), then our country wouldn’t have an obesity problem (and most fast-food chains and Frito/Lay and its competitors would probably go out of business, at least in the US).
