How did this happen?

How did so many of us get so unfit, just in the last two decades? Two thirds of Americans are overweight or obese and, if the Center for Disease Control's dire prediction is correct, one in three of today's children will be diabetic by the year 2050.

Diabetes is only the tip of the iceberg. A myriad of infirmities are linked to inactivity, and they lead to a seriously impaired quality of life and a premature death for 300,000 Americans this year alone.

How did it happen? Who's responsible?

According to some recent lawsuits, the culprit must be soft drinks, packaged cookies or drive-thru burgers.

If our kids grow heavier each year, it must be because Oreos doubled their filling or because there's a Coke machine on campus. If you have a heart attack at 40, it must be McDonald's fault for creating Big Macs.

Wouldn't it be convenient if it were that easy?

In searching for the answer to the country's obesity problem, we could point the finger in a lot of directions.

The food industry is an easy and obvious target. Maybe it's Milton Hershey's fault for making a chocolate bar so attainable for the last century. Let's blame Clarence Birdseye for making frozen pizza a reality. Perhaps it's those Pepperidge Farm Goldfish that do it.

Thinking outside the icebox, why not accuse Bill Gates for putting a computer in every home? Or Henry Ford for putting a car in every garage? Or every developer who every built an anti-pedestrian suburb?

Perhaps the schools or doctors are to blame for not teaching basic nutrition. Or, the district voters for cutting funding that allowed physical education. Or, the government commodities that overloaded the school lunch program with ground beef and fat-laden cheese.

Or, perhaps, just maybe, we can blame ourselves for sitting too much, eating too much and believing that walking even a quarter-mile is a huge imposition on our precious time and energy.

Balancing America's ship, listing from too much weight, will take some time, effort and changed perceptions, but it will be done.

Americans have a way of accomplishing pretty much what they set their minds to, but we can't afford to waste time. Too many lives are at stake. Let's address the real goal of creating a healthy, safe, clean, activity-friendly country, rather than wasting our energies on some frivolous, headline-grabbing lawsuit.

Below are some wise words to get you started, published by Plato in his Republic, 360 BC: avoid overeating and excessive indulgence in alcohol; limit eating foods that are too rich (especially sweets and cakes); and engage in a simple exercise program

Brenda Berstler is the founder of the Walking Example Group (WE-GO) a non-profit organization encouraging walking and walkable communities. Visit their website at www.we-go.org.