Lindsey Tanner of the the Associated Press poses the question today in her Star Tribune article, "Is it OK for doctors and parents to tell children and teens that they're fat?"

That seems to be at the heart of a debate over a proposal to replace the fuzzy language favored by the U.S. government with the painful truth - telling kids whether they're obese or overweight.

Labeling a child as obese might "run the risk of making them angry, making the family angry," but it addresses a serious issue headon, said Dr. Reginald Washington, a Denver pediatrician and co-chairman of an American Academy of Pediatrics obesity task force.

"If that same person came into your office and had cancer, or was anemic, or had an ear infection, would we be having the same conversation? There are a thousand reasons why this obesity epidemic is so out of control, and one of them is no one wants to talk about it."

Unhealthy Americans is one of the two biggest problems that we face today (in my opinion) - the second being our failing educational system. Actually Ms. Tanner's article is rather timely. This past week while visiting my doctor, Kristen Casenave at the Southwestern Medical Center, I told her I was planning to write a book - The Dumbing Down and Fattening Up of America. We talked about the obesity of Americans and she remarked, "Look, if a person is fat we should tell them they are fat." I agree with Dr. Casenave. How can a person fix a problem, if they don't know they have a problem.

It's simple, if you are fat, then you need to be told you are fat. The consequences of being fat are enormous. Fat people are discriminated against by society - in the business world and the dating game. Fat people die prematurely from being fat. Big is not beautiful. It is deadly. If you love your fat child, and you don't tell them they are fat, do you want to see them die from being fat? I don't. I would. It is the right thing to do.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive