Life in the fat lane.

There was a time when "dietetic" food was a specialty item. Now you see "lite" and "low-fat" foods everywhere, from the cookie aisle in the supermarket to the convenience foods refrigerated section. You can even get low-fat potato chips that are baked--not fried. So what are the fastest-growing foods in America? The answer is hamburgers, fries, and chicken nuggets.

It seems Americans want to have it both ways. We opt for low-fat foods from time to time, but we're also eating out at fast-food restaurants in record numbers. A recent survey found that, per week, Americans ate 3 million more hamburgers, 2 1/2 million more orders of chicken nuggets, and 4 million more orders of french fries than they did last year.

It may come as no surprise, then, that the number of overweight Americans is at an all-time high.