WHAT'S MAKING JOHNNY FAT?

The answer is obvious all over the world. He eats too much and exercises too little.

At least that's the way it is in America. Too much munching while at the computer or TV and too little invigorating play.

China has the same child obesity problem, caused by a growing prosperity which is lavished on the only child (boys generally) in the form of fancy foods filled with fats, salt and sugar. Exercise has gone out with the bicycle.

In England, the term "child obesity" now applies to more than 13% of young Brits. Schools are now supposed to record the problem and inform the parents so they may do something about it. (No more beer and kippers). But the bureaucracy is hung up on how to convey the information without damaging little Jonathan's self-esteem.

It's bad enough that all the world's prosperous kids are getting fat through a combination of overeating and under exercising.

But in America, there is a new problem.

A whole bunch of kids are exercising like mad and still getting fat. And they are getting fat deliberately.

What gives?

It seems that pro football is to blame. Every husky kid in America who likes football dreams of becoming a powerhouse National Football League lineman. You know, the mastodons who weight between 300 and 400 pounds.

As a result, our dumb little kids are "bulking up" to be more like the mammoths they see on TV on Sundays.

An Iowa State University study found that 45% of the linemen playing Iowa high school football teams were overweight. Alarmingly, almost 10% were into severe adult obesity standards at ages 15 and 16. And another 28% were at risk of becoming overweight.

If this is happening in Iowa, you can just imagine what is happening to the kids in even nuttier football states like Texas, Pennsylvania and Ohio. I am told that the kids in Nebraska are getting bigger than the residents of the feed lots.

All this leads to three serious problems:

1. Kids are bulking up for nothing. Making the NFL is as likely as winning a lottery.

2. Kids are inviting the early onslaught of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other diseases.

3. The fat kids will earn less money in the real world than their more buff rivals. A study conducted for nine European countries found that adding 10% body mass automatically results in a loss of earning power. Fat men earned 3.3% less than their more-fit colleagues, while tubby women made 1.8% less.

Although there is no similar research dealing with the USA, the pay problem is highly likely to be even more pronounced for American fatties. Just pick up any business magazine and look at the pictures of the successful executives. Fewer than one in a hundred will be overweight.

If you want your kid to be successful, don't worry about getting him into Harvard. Better to save your money and send him off to fat camp.

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