Childhood Obesity Epidemic renamed Childhood SUGAR Epidemic

OK, maybe the obesity epidemic has only been officially renamed the Childhood SUGAR Epidemic by me, but I think the new name reflects a huge problem causing the epidemic in the first place.  On January 1st while many people were starting their new diets or at least plotting to start a new diet, I sat at the Annual Pasadena Rose Parade.   Among the people sitting around me was an 8 year-old obese boy.  At 7 a.m. when I took my seat, he sat in front of me eating a large bag of blue cotton candy.  I think a list format will be the best way to sum up the rest of his mass sugar consumption that took place from 7 a.m. until 10 a.m.

1.  The bag of cotton candy                             
2.  A Babe Ruth candy-bar
3.  A giant cinnamon roll
4.  Bag of potato chips
5.  Babe Ruth candy-bar #2
6.  2 chocolate balls the size of golf balls

Wowzers!  To top it off, his mother said he had waffles for breakfast.

My 2 questions for you are:  What do you think is causing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic?  Are you aware of everything that you are eating on a daily basis?

I've seen people obsess over counting calories but one simple exercise which really helps people ( me included) is to simply write down every single thing that enters your mouth in a day.  I first did this exercise in a college nutrition class.  I was so surprised to find out that I didn't eat as healthy as I thought.  Write down what you eat for a week and write down the times you eat them.  You may be able to find a pattern in your eating habits that you didn't notice before.

Then, if you want to know how much fat, protein, vitamins, etc. that you are consuming, you can put this information into this website
 http://www.choosemyplate.gov/supertracker-tools.html
 Doing this exercise may shed some light on the areas of your diet that need improvement.  Good luck achieving your health goals in the new year.  Remember, you have to start somewhere, take baby steps, and eat food that is nutritious so you can feel Superlicious. ( I don't know if that's a word but it sounds like a good way to feel! :)