Yes, Americans for the most park have grown much bigger than they used to be. We get it. We have heard it a thousand times. Whole industries and lines of commerce have been built on the idea that from childhood on, too many Americans are heavier than some ideal weight. We know this is bad. It leads to many chronic diseases. It drives up the cost of medical care even while we have fewer doctors. Not only that, but it makes people unhappy because they don't look as sleek as they did when they were 18, and certainly not as slim as almost all the actors and actresses on TV.

Take a look at the costumes, dresses and military uniforms on display in mid-valley museums. Unless they shrank in the wash, which is unlikely, they make it appear as though our forebears were a race of midgets, at least where girth is concerned.

But all this awareness doesn't do much good. The reason our ancestors were slim is that they led tougher lives. And try as we might, we just can't emulate them in this regard.

If we tried, we would mothball the fleets of school buses and let children find their own way to school. Let them walk a few miles every day.

We would build houses without central heating. In the morning, if we wanted hot water and a warm breakfast, we would first start a fire in the kitchen stove. The night before we would have chopped some wood or hauled some coal from the cellar.

If we wanted to watch TV, we would first stomp on the remote and crush it to pieces. Every time we wanted to turn the channel or adjust the volume, we would have to get up.

At work, we would turn into machine-smashing Luddites. We would refuse to sit for hours at a time looking at screens. We would insist on writing machines that required a swift hand-and-arm motion every few seconds.

We would forget about eating prepared foods at all. Every family would have someone shopping for fresh food daily and then cooking it up.

But we're not going to do any of those things, not without a severe depression or, God forbid, a war on our shores. Instead we're going to keep pursuing the luxurious life, surrounded by comfort and convenience at every turn.

The loss of fitness is the price the easy life exacts (hh).