Mail Call

Many readers of our July 3 cover story on childhood obesity shared their personal struggles with having been, or still being, a fat kid. "Every word of your article struck home," wrote a 51-year-old man recuperating from coronary-bypass surgery. "As a severely overweight child I, too, was forced to grow up in a world where hurtful comments and humiliation by peers were an everyday part of the classroom experience," recalled a woman who says she eventually lost the weight, "but not the hurt and vulnerability." And an 11-year-old who weighs 115 pounds told us, "Your article hit the spot. But some of us eat not because of depression or filling a hole in our hearts; we just love to eat. Some things don't need a scientific explanation; they just are."

I am 12 years old and weigh 145 pounds. I am obviously overweight and depressed. While I was reading your story "Fat for Life?" (SOCIETY, July 3), I cried and couldn't stop. In fact, I am still crying as I write this. But I learned many different things, such as the fact that 75 percent of adolescents don't come out of this. I decided that is not going to happen to me. I am going to be one of the 25 percent who can lose the weight. Every day since then, I have ridden a stationary bike for 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes at night. So far I have lost one and a half pounds. I am taking on the issue of my weight and I'm going to win this battle because I believed you, and so I didn't sit there and watch the rest of "Dawson's Creek." Instead I got off my fanny and went and rode that bike for another 20 minutes.
Name Withheld
Atlanta, Ga.

Bravo to NEWSWEEK for finally putting fat kids on your cover. Childhood obesity is an American issue growing (please excuse the pun) out of control at an appalling rate. Your story was exceedingly well written--and what it reflected about us as parents and caregivers, and as a society, was quite pathetic. In this country we have known for decades about the correlation between obesity and heart disease, certain cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. And it is understood that a fat child runs a greater risk than a child of normal weight of becoming a fat, ill adult. Are adults who permit their children to eat as they please (meaning anything and everything) supremely ignorant or genuinely abusive? My daughter is now 4 1/2 and honestly chooses fish and broccoli over burgers and fries. Why? Because that is how I am bringing her up. It's called self-control and self-education, and it can't start early enough--for kids or the grown-ups who raise them.
Amanda Uhry
New York, N.Y.

Thank you for your very timely article on childhood obesity. As a pediatrician, I am dismayed at the increasing number of fat children I see on a daily basis. I find it sadly ironic that parents bring in their children for such minor problems as colds, while the biggest threat to the future health of their children, obesity, is usually ignored until it is too late. While your article frequently mentioned the lack of physical-education classes, the real solution lies in a lifestyle change for the entire family; 45 minutes of kickball will not turn a Big Mac-eating couch potato into a healthy person.
Aparna Kambhampati, M.D.
San Diego, Calif.

I read with interest your cover story on childhood obesity. As a parent with a minor degree in nutrition, I am very concerned about preventing my children from falling into this trap. I feel as if I am swimming against the current: the only person I know who will not allow her children to eat snack or junk foods. One problem your article did not mention is that so many children of working mothers are now in day care. Day-care providers should be at the forefront of the battle against childhood obesity--and some do a great job. But I have a constant struggle with my kids' current day-care providers to get them to offer the children healthy food. I have talked to them and given them written instructions on how I want my children to be fed, but nothing has worked. Parents, beware! Look at your day-care provider and don't listen to her description of what "food program" she is using, but see how obese she is and how she eats--that's how your child is going to look.
Susan Mercurio
St. Paul, Minn.

Thanks for the excellent article on obesity in kids. As a formerly overweight kid, I am quite sensitive to the issue as a whole. At 20, I have finally conquered the physical weight but not the emotional scars left by years of living with it. However, the satisfaction of losing the weight has left a better taste in my mouth than any milkshake, cheeseburger or candy bar ever could.
Elizabeth Topham
Columbia, Mo.

Thank you for including "When Weight Loss Goes Awry" in your report on childhood obesity. While it is important for people to be aware of the dangers of children's becoming seriously overweight, it is equally important not to add to the intensity of society's "be thin" message. We must be careful not to focus too heavily on the importance of body shape/size. It is sad and frightening to realize that many children base their sense of self-worth on the appearance of their bodies. Too many young people have been erroneously led to believe that they can never be too thin. For 12 years I battled anorexia nervosa. For an additional 18 years I've struggled with the physical and emotional scars of the illness. Having endured lengthy hospital stays, heart irregularities, osteoporosis, digestive problems and infertility, I want young people to know that you can be too thin. Let's recognize and celebrate healthy lifestyles instead of idealized body sizes or weights.
Debbie Gilligan
Hollywood, Md.

"Fat for Life?" represents the opinions of professionals who have probably never suffered from being overweight. I was overweight as a child, and the best thing that ever happened to me was a boy's nicknaming me "butterball" in the fifth grade. Up to that point my family and friends had told me "it's OK" or "it's all muscle"; doctors attempted to start me on diets that included having only fruit for snacks, but no one ever told me outright that I was fat until that boy called me butterball. Although I went home and cried that night, I knew I had to face reality, and sometimes reality is not pleasant. Now, at 17, I am a fit athlete and plan to play field hockey in college. This would never have been possible if that boy had not called me butterball.
Kelly McKallagat
Holden, Mass.

Sunday, Ugly Sunday Anna Quindlen puts into words what so many women hate to think about: the knowledge and fear that most men have the ability to physically dominate--and harm--them ("Sexual Assault, Film at Eleven," THE LAST WORD, July 3). It's not something we like to dwell on. But every time we hear of a woman's being sexually assaulted, we are reminded. The scenes from Central Park show the terror, humiliation and utter helplessness of a group of women being attacked by a mob of crazed men. It speaks volumes about how society is today and, as Quindlen suggests, how it has always been.
Kelly Mulcrone
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

I was somewhat disturbed by Anna Quindlen's latest essay. She seems to be stereotyping all men as thugs and rapists. Some men are, but some men do their best to treat women with respect and dignity. All negative stereotyping is harmful, whether it is done by a white supremacist or by a feminist. My wife is pregnant with our first child, a daughter. When she comes of age, I will give her the hope that if she is careful and patient, she can find a good man.
Timothy Schrader
Affton, Mo.

Rescuing Social Security There is one partial solution to the Social Security problem that no politician wishes to address: make the program's payments based entirely on need ("The Social Security Crackup," NATIONAL AFFAIRS, July 3). Right now there are multimillionaires who are getting Social Security handouts from the government simply because they are old enough to collect them. Many are still working. Meanwhile, there are elderly people who, even with the payments they get, can barely afford their medication. Social Security should be a safety net and not an entitlement.
Michael A. Ventrella
Stroudsburg, Pa.

In your July 3 story "The Social Security Crackup," I am quoted, as Gov. George W. Bush's chief economic adviser, in a misleading way on his plan to save Social Security. The impact of the Bush plan on any "guaranteed" benefit would be determined by the proposals of the bipartisan task force he will create as president, and by congressional action on those proposals. Any statement to the contrary is both factually incorrect and an erroneous report of what I have said.
Lawrence B. Lindsey
Clifton, Va.

Farrelly Flash As we say in Arizona, it's not the heat, it's the human nudity. I enjoy a glimpse of the well-toned male form, but Peter Farrelly as your first centerfold ("The Farrellys' Wild Ride," ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, July 3)? Please! Even erstwhile Cosmo pinup Burt Reynolds would have been a more appealing vision than Farrelly's Hindenburg-esque midriff and crab-grass coiffure. I admit there's something merry about an uninhibited man. But the next time I read my NEWSWEEK over dinner, me, myself and my eyes want to feast on the likes of Joseph Fiennes, Ben Affleck, Harrison Ford or Eddie the dog. Your photo left me glum and glummer.
Barbara Yost
Phoenix, Ariz.

Maybe "Me, Myself & Irene" should be rated N-65: no one over 65 admitted without a teenager.
Roberta Stoller
New Seabury, Mass.

Pumped-Up Petrol Prices I was incensed by your list of options (PERISCOPE, July 3) for answering the question "Whom do you hold most responsible for the rise in gas prices?" How about a fifth choice--ourselves! We continue to enjoy relatively low gas prices compared with the rest of the world, we have done little to encourage conservation and we continue to purchase ever larger, less fuel-efficient automobiles--yet all of your options allow us to blame someone else. Stand up, people. Stop complaining and accept responsibility for your actions.
Peter R. O'Keeffe
Los Angeles, Calif.

Correction In our July 3 story "One Drive That Fits All" (FOCUS ON TECHNOLOGY), we said that today's PCs come with 20 or more megabytes of disk space; we should have said gigabytes. We also said that the storage capacity of recordable CD-ROM drives is 750 megabytes; the standard capacity is 650 megabytes.