Fight Belly Sprawl. (On The Web).

Politicians from both major parties and from coast to coast bemoan the inflated state of Americans' waistlines. They give speeches, decry our sedentary lifestyle, and urge parents to guide their children's eating habits. They do everything but vote for legislation that would actually make a difference.

Talking about obesity is cheap. Doing something about it can be expensive ... or can jeopardize relationships with large corporations and the agriculture lobby (that is, major campaign contributors).

Here are some measures that local, state, and federal governments could take to fight the obesity epidemic:

* Require menu boards and menus at chain restaurants to disclose the calorie contents of foods and beverages. We now eat a third of our calories away from home. And with 1,000-calorie cheeseburgers and 1,000-calorie shakes seemingly everywhere, restaurants should be required to disclose how much their foods can expand your clothing size.

* Stop giving companies free rein to market junk foods to kids on television and even in schools. In the late 1970s the Federal Trade Commission dared to question advertising aimed at kids. The FTC was clobbered by the food, broadcasting, and advertising industries.

* Get transportation planners to shift some of the focus from cars to buses, trains, bike paths, sidewalks, and trails. We need to make it more convenient--and safer--to walk to work or bike to school.

* Remove the junk food from school vending machines, snack shops, cafeterias, and fundraisers. Congress could easily restrict the sale of salty, greasy, sugary snacks in schools, despite the efforts of the food industry (backed, in some cases, by desperate-for-revenue school administrators).

Cars, automatic garage door openers, elevators and escalators, and TV remote controls make life easier. Fast-food outlets make it convenient to catch a bite on the run. And enormous portions at restaurants satisfy our "bigger is better" urges. But they also all make it easier for people to either eat more or exercise less.

Healthy eating shouldn't be like swimming upstream. If you agree, please join our campaign to help make it easier for people to eat better and move more. You can find more information on the Web site of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (which publishes Nutrition Action Healthletter). Just go to www.cspinet.org/ nutritionpolicy.

Lost Weight ... and Kept it Off?

Have you lost weight? Please let us know how much (your starting and ending weights), for how long you kept it off, and how you did it. Jogging? Ornish? Atkins? Weight Watchers? Did you sell your car or TV? Write to us at:

CSPI--Thinning Ideas Suite 300 1875 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Washington, DC 20009

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D. Executive Director v Center for Science in the Public Interest