Obesity is not contracted through the air or by contact with another, yet it affects millions of Americans. In America alone at least ¼ of all children under the age of nineteen are overweight, this figure doubling over the last 30 years. Greg Crister's essay, "Too Much of a Good Thing," written for the Los Angeles Times argues that stigmatizing overeating may be the solution to the nation's rising obesity epidemic. Crister, author of the book Supersize, feels that by stigmatizing obesity the way smoking and other unhealthful practices are campaigned against would reduce these statistics. As the obesity rate continues to rise among our youth, Crister proposes an attractive solution to the growing problem, but it will not alone reduce the victims of this monster.
             In his essay, Greg Crister introduces the rising obesity rate in children as an epidemic. In a recent Pennsylvania State University study, it was concluded that five-year old children eat more when they are served larger portions. These findings lead one to think that maybe children don't realize when they are full and tend to overeat. Crister feels that children should be taught that eating to much food is a bad thing and should be supervised at the dinner table.
             Crister bases his article on statistical information and mentions the results of numerous research experiments. It was found that in a group of 6 to 12 year olds, those that were offered behavioral advice were less overweight 10 years later and 30 percent of those were no longer obese at all. Another study proved the old myth, a child should never be put on a diet, wrong and found that low-saturated-fat and low-cholesterol diets have no effect on growth during childhood. Children put on such diets ended up with healthier and more moderate eating habits. He uses these findings to convince readers that his solution of stigmatizing overeating would not be harmful in anyway a
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