I Saw You Tonight in the Hot Tub Time Machine!

I saw you tonight..!

You were young and tight, had shiny hair, white teeth (naturally), and you were SO MUCH FUN..!

We were out way past curfew, and not once did anyone mention "snacking." Instead it was boys boys boys or girls girls girls or whatever. We were all more interested in hooking up rather than scoring a 4th Meal...

What a blast we had! You were full of energy, so light in your shoes, so agile...so sexy.

Listen to me right now. Jump into that damn Hot Tub Time Machine and get back to where you once belonged. Get back, Jojo! Whether the soundtrack of your fitter and more fun self is the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, the Stones, James Taylor, the Eagles, Bad Company, AC/DC, Bob Seger, Journey, Duran Duran, Siouxie and the Banshees, Adam Ant, the Cure, Bon Jovi, Ratt, Poison, Madonna, the Black Crowes, Nirvana, REM, Lenny Kravitz, Hootie and the Blowfish...or whatever... Put it on and rock out..!

Get yourself back into the mindset of when you had everything in front of you and the weight of the world was a concept in your mind not a reality on your ass... Come on! Come on! You know you can do better... You know you are better... Be your better self! Maybe your sillier self... your slinkier self... And have a blast doing it...

I'm turnin' on Van Halen II right effing now... Have you seen her? So fine and pretty...

Tell Me Your Answers for Obesity...

The New York Times asks how to solve the obesity crisis... Harriet Brown, Kelly D. Brownell, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Alwyn T. Cohall and Ellyn Satter answer...

And here's my answer...

We must accept that most of those already obese will remain so. Not that they can't lose the excess weight, but that they won't. It's hard enough in today's culture to prevent excess weight, and far harder to lose it once gained... (Although, for everyone of you trying, go go go!)

So what do we do? 2 Things:

1- We do all that we can to encourage daily exercise and wholesome food consumption for all people of all sizes. Why? To reduce the steep financial cost and human suffering cost of chronic illness.

2- We direct all our resources to the Pre-Pregnancy to Age 5 bracket--before their body compositions, eating habits and exercise patterns are set. Now is the time to foster Generation H for Healthy... We'll age ourselves out of this obesity crisis, beginning with Gen H.

The above will take immediate cultural changes and policy changes--and a deep questioning of the very memes that ushered in this era of obesity--to create an environment that promotes health rather than instant gratification, food solicitations directed at vulnerable children, and the only benchmark being 90-day updates to Wall Street of increased sales at reduced costs.

The challenge isn't just nutrition or exercise--it's behavioral psychology and neuroscience. And at that game, my friends, industry has us beat. They have every corner of our parietal lobes lit up, they know just how to trigger intense dopamine-driven cravings, and they know the exact "bliss point" to release the pleasure cascade of opioids should we give in to temptation. Industry's plan is to formulate, package and market "ingestible entertainment" that bypasses all reason... Don't believe me? Strip down and look in the mirror.

And yet, I do believe 100% in personal responsibility. Just as we're held accountable for our anger and sexual impulses, so too must we learn accountability for our eating impulses. Instead of indoctrinating our children into a mode of eating as entertainment (40% of "food" served to children is of low or no nutritional value according to a recent D of Ag study. We're not even trying, People...), we must emphasize the unadulterated pleasure of nourishment. And if children aren't deprived of their minimal hour of daily exercise, they can enjoy the occasional treat with little consequence to their weight or health...

For eons, humans had to survive scarcity. Now we'll find out just who can survive abundance. My bet is on the kids whose parents aren't hooking them on soft drinks...

(Now tell me your answers for reversing today's alarming obesity trends... Please add your comments.)