family

As the news spread that researchers had discovered an "obesity gene," responses ranged from relief ("I knew this wasn't because I wasn't working hard enough") to remorse ("Great - now there's no chance I'll ever lose this weight").

 If you take a look around you, signs of the soaring childhood obesity epidemic are everywhere. There are the increasingly realistic video games, high definition television, and millions of websites readily available to today's children - not to mention fewer physical education classes and thousands of fast-food commercials marketed directly to children and teens. But there are other subtle changes contributing to the nation's weight problem as well.